


Nine Times Tony Stark Is Excited to be a Father

by AlexKingOfTheDamned, swimsalot



Category: The Avengers - Ambiguous Fandom
Genre: F/M, M/M, Pregnant Sex, Unplanned Pregnancy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-12-27
Updated: 2013-01-16
Packaged: 2017-11-22 15:04:57
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 30,973
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/611140
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AlexKingOfTheDamned/pseuds/AlexKingOfTheDamned, https://archiveofourown.org/users/swimsalot/pseuds/swimsalot
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Follow Tony through the nine months of Pepper's pregnancy, and all the times he's glad he's going to be a father.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Pepper's pregnant?!

Pepper Potts was many things. In addition to being a superb CEO she was also an accomplished tennis player, a loving girlfriend, a philanthropist, a babysitter and the occasional activist. She also, with the help of Phil Coulson, was in charge of publicity for the Avengers. She managed all these things because Pepper Potts was organized. Almost fanatically so. It was a necessity when dealing with someone like Tony Stark who took chaos to a whole new level. She had files upon files filled with spreadsheets and calendars and meticulous notes and schedules.  
  
Pepper Potts loved schedules. She had a schedule for everything. A schedule for herself, a schedule for the company, a schedule for the Avengers and a schedule for Tony Stark complete with a backup schedule for when he ruined the first one. Everything was always on time and in its place in Pepper's world. Except for the occasional alien attack which threw things off but don't worry, she had planned for that.  
  
She didn't have a plan for this though. She didn't have a plan for when _her_ schedule was off. She had never even considered it as a possibility. She had been careful. So very, very careful. But there was no denying it when she was late.   
  
She tried not to think about it too much at first. Alright she was late. It happened. She had been stressed lately. Another mission had almost gone very, very bad for Tony and it had scared her. It made sense. Her hormones were just reacting to the stress. It was just a few days. It was normal. She'd be back on track soon.  
  
But then it wasn't just a few days. Then it was almost two weeks and oh god no, this couldn't be happening. She didn't want to believe it. But Pepper wasn't one to delude herself. The simple fact was she was late. Very late and she needed to check. She needed to be sure. All she had to do was take a test.  
  
And then another just to be sure. It was probably better to have a second test anyway. Or a third. Maybe four just to be safe.  
  
It was when the fourth test turned out exactly the same that she started to panic.

 

“Pep, you’ve been in the bathroom almost half an hour.” Tony knocked on the door sleepily. “Did you fall asleep on the toilet? Which is okay, it’s happened to all of us.”

 

It was the middle of the night when Tony was roused by the bed shifting. Pepper’s form darted to the bathroom in the darkness, and he figured she’d be back soon. Drifting back off into a light sleep, the next time he opened his eyes twenty-five minutes had passed and the light was still on under the crack in the bathroom door. Not bothering to put his robe on, he stood completely naked in front of the door and now awaited the response from his girlfriend – whom had been acting pretty prickly as of late as it was. Maybe she was constipated. That never failed to put _him_ in a bad mood.

 

"I'm fine." Pepper snapped back. She immediately regretted being so harsh and followed it up with a gentler, "I'll be out in a minute. Go back to bed Tony."  
  
She couldn't believe this was happening. To her! She wasn't the kind of person who made mistakes like this. She was Pepper Potts who always had things together even when the rest of the world was coming apart. Alright she had slipped a few times, letting herself get worked up, but she always managed to get things back under control. And now here she was with this huge...issue and she couldn't even begin to imagine how it had happened. And there was Tony, outside waiting for her, all sweet and ignorant, not knowing that his whole life was going to change.  
  
She had to tell him. She knew that. He would hate her if he found out she had been keeping it from him. She knew he wouldn't be happy. Tony Stark wasn't the sort of man to settle down with a wife and kid, but he had to know. Whatever they decided to do they would decide together. But first she had to get rid of the evidence. She was going to tell him her way, not let him find out through a positive test left carelessly in the trash.

 

Tony frowned at the door for a few seconds, before he heard her voice inside again, “Go to _bed_ Tony.”

 

“Alright, alright,” he waved at the door and crawled back into the still-warm covers. “But if you put your icy feet on me when you get back in bed then I’ll kick you to the floor.”

 

A few minutes later she came out of the bathroom, trying hard to smile and act like everything was normal. She climbed into bed and wrapped her arms around Tony, purposefully sticking her cold feet between his calves.   
  
"You wouldn't dare." she whispered against his neck, holding onto him perhaps a little too tightly. She couldn't be sure this wouldn't be one of the last times she got to hold him like this.

 

Wriggling uncomfortably and hissing like a wildcat, Tony whined, “ _Pepper!_ ” and wiggled until both of them fell right off the bed.

 

========

 

She was acting funny, that was for sure. She always seemed distracted, and had a new little notebook that she was always writing in, that _never ever I mean never_ left her side. Tony had tried to ask what it was once, and Pepper prickled up worse than a cactus.

 

“ and red for the … Miss Potts, are you listening?”

 

Tony was beside her when the man who’d been talking about the color of the curtains for the next upcoming charity dinner tried to get her attention. He’d noticed she was looking out the window at the city, her fingers tapping impatiently at the clipboard in her hand. He reached over and pulled the ponytail from the back of her neck so he could brush his fingers there, it always calmed her down when she was nervous or fidgety.

 

Pepper jumped a little and then relaxed, letting Tony's touch sooth her. She was completely off her game today which never happened. But it seemed like a lot of "never happeneds" were happening right now and she just couldn't keep her focus on her work like she normally could. Usually when something was wrong she would throw herself into her job but now it seemed like even that wouldn't work. All she could think about was what to tell Tony. She couldn't just drop this on him. She needed to ease into it. The timing had to be just right or things might end up even worse than she was already imagining.  
  
"I'm sorry." she said, shaking herself a little. "I guess I'm not really myself today. What were you suggesting?"

 

“Are you someone else today?” Tony interrupted the man. “Because depending, we can play with that later.”

 

“Not the time, sir.” Jarvis reminded him from the ceiling.

 

The man continued on his talk of curtains, and Pepper did her very best to focus.

 

 

 

Pepper looked at the stack of papers on her desk and groaned. Actually groaned. Usually paperwork didn't bother her unless it was related to Iron Man-induced property damage. But seeing it all there now made her want to turn around and go right back home to bed. The thought of sitting at her desk all day, trying to focus on the papers while juggling phone calls and worrying about her date with Tony tonight was almost daunting enough to make her want to take a sick day.  
  
But she never took sick days. And if she took one then there would be no way to avoid suspicion. So reluctantly she condemned herself to a day of toil and took a seat at her desk, reaching for the first paper she saw.

 

Tony appeared in her office about an hour later, futzing with a rubix cube. He greeted her, she ignored him. This was one of those, ‘bother Pepper because I’m bored’ things.

 

Sitting at the edge of her desk, Tony began to poke the end of her pen. “Pepper. Pepper. Pepper.” He chanted, and she ignored him like a pro.

 

“Pepper. Pepper. Pepper.” He continued, moving around behind her to kiss the nape of her neck. “Pepper. Pepper. Pepper.” He fiddled with one of her pearl earrings with his teeth.

 

Looking over his shoulder at the papers she was filling out, he suddenly stopped. “Pep. It’s the thirteenth. Not the twelfth.”

 

Pepper suddenly stopped, her eyes flicking up to the date at the top of the page. Then she checked her computer screen. There was no doubt Tony was right. She had made a mistake on the date.   
  
"I don't know how I could have done that." she said, reaching for the unused bottle of white out in her desk drawer.

 

“How you forgot the date and somehow _I_ remembered it? Are you high? Been smokin’ on the job? You know that’s not allowed unless you share your pot with me, Pepper.” Tony teased, moving back to sit on her desk as she whited out the date and waved her hand over it to dry it.

 

"That's not funny Tony." she snapped. Once the white out had dried she carefully repenned the date, going slowly to avoid making another mistake. Then she stopped and began carefully rereading everything she had written so far. Is she could mess up something like that who knew what other mistake she might have made?  
  
"I don't think I got enough sleep last night." she said sullenly, finding another mistake half way down the page.

 

“You were asleep by the time I got to bed.” Tony pointed out. “At _ten_.”

 

"Yes but I didn't stay asleep." Pepper reminded him. Which was true. Once she had woken up she hadn't been able to go back to sleep all night.

 

“Well then go to bed early tonight. Take melatonin and pass out for ten hours. You look tired anyway. You didn’t even put mascara on this morning, did you? Your eyes look… lighter.

 

"What!?" Pepper grabbed at her purse and pulled out her compact, checking her eyes in the mirror. "Why didn't you say anything earlier?" she asked angrily, searching through her bag for the extra makeup she usually packed.

 

“Whoa, whoa, easy,” Tony grabbed her hands and stilled them, pulling them away from her purse. “It’s nice. You look a lot fresher. I mean, despite looking exhausted. You don’t _need_ makeup. Especially since you haven’t even left this office all day.”

 

"What if someone schedules an emergency meeting? I can't go in looking like I just rolled out of bed." Pepper snapped. "And we have a date tonight. I brought a change of clothes but I won't look very good if I'm not put together."

 

“Pepper, hey, hey,” he cupped her face in his hands and lifted, forcing her to make eye contact with him. “You don’t need makeup to look put together. All you have to do is smile and let me look at you.”

 

She smiled and took his hands. "Thank you. That was actually very sweet." She released his hands to push him off her desk. "Now go. I've got a lot of work to catch up on. I'll see you later."

 

“First you’re sweet on me, now you’re kicking me out. I don’t have to take this abuse, Pepper. I’m not a piece of meat.” Tony said on his way out the door.

 

"Love you." she called after him. She meant for it to be casual, her usual retort when he started acting like a kicked puppy but it came out wrong. It sounded serious and maybe a little scared.

 

 

 

Dinner that night, she zoned out a total of three times while Tony was talking to her.

 

“Pep. Pepper.” She came to when he grabbed her hand. “Pepper, did you hear what I said?”

 

"Yes, of course I-" she stopped and sighed, squeezing his hand. "No. I'm so sorry Tony. I've just got a lot on my mind. Tell me again, I promise I'll listen this time."

 

Tony’s brow was creased as he looked her over. “I said I’m putting you on a week-long vacation and taking up your duties because you can’t focus your attention for more than fifteen minutes.”

 

"Tony you don't have that authority." she reminded him. She twisted the napkin in her lap. If he thought she couldn't handle work now what would he think in a few months when her hormones really started kicking in? Would he try to fire her? "I'm just having an off day anyway. I'll be better soon. I promise."

 

“Try an off _week_.” Tony said. “I have all the authority I want. I’m your boyfriend and the company is mine, even if you’re in charge. I’ll have Jarvis put your accounts on lockdown if you don’t do as I say. Something’s off with you, and you need time to get it sorted out _without_ needing to juggle it with your work.”

 

"I'm sorting it out!" she said angrily. Then she pulled back, folding her arms over her chest. This wasn't how the night was supposed to go. They were supposed to have a nice night so she could tell him about...it. Now everything was ruined. She couldn't tell him now when she angry and hurt like this. It would spoil the whole thing.

 

“You’re yelling at me.” He said, leaning back in his own chair with his brow raised. “I’m not trying to attack you, but if you’re so distracted and upset over whatever is causing you to be like this that you’re making trivial mistakes and constantly zoning out, then you’re better off taking a break than forcing yourself to keep working.”

 

Pepper glared at him. "I want to keep working. I like working. You don't even know what's wrong and you're sending me away. You've never made me take vacation before. What would you do if I got sick? Fire me?"  
  
That was harsh and unfair and she knew it. Tony would never be so cruel but she had said it and she couldn't take it back now. She wanted to but that would only make his case stronger.

 

Tony looked insulted and he sat up even straighter. “No, I don’t know what’s wrong. Tell me.” He said defiantly, his hands clasping together on the table.

 

Pepper shook her head. She couldn't bring it up now in the middle of an argument. It would be cruel to throw that in Tony's face after what she'd just said. Accusing him of firing her at the first provocation and then telling him everything that was happening in the space of two minutes didn't feel right.  
  
"No. Not right now." she replied firmly.

 

Tony groaned. “I _hate_ that about women.” He said, “And don’t even tell me I’m being misogynistic, because men _never_ do that. That thing where you ask what’s wrong and you either say _nothing_ but something’s really wrong, or you just won’t say. First you say I’m being unfair because I want you to take leave without knowing what’s wrong, and now you won’t tell me what’s wrong.”

 

"I can't tell you right now." was all she could say. It wasn't an excuse, not really. She wasn't going to deny that yes, she had brought this on herself and she shouldn't have said anything if she didn't want to talk about it but she wasn't going to cave either. Now was not the right time to make such a big announcement.  
  
She took a deep breath and leaned forward, smiling and offering her hand. "Let's just forget about it alright? Let's enjoy our date. We hardly ever get to go out like this."

 

Tony looked at her skeptically. He clearly didn’t want to drop the subject so easily. But Pepper was all bull and horns when she got like this, and he didn’t have the patience to go digging around for details in a public place right now.

 

“Fine.” He said, taking her hand with one of his own, using the other to point at her and narrowed his eyes in mock suspicion. “But don’t think you’re getting off that easy. And I’m serious about the vacation. If you won’t take a week, at least take tomorrow.”

 

"Alright." She could use the time to go see the doctor. She had been wondering how she would fit it into her schedule without Tony getting suspicious anyway. This gave her the perfect opening. "I'm sorry for what I said. I know you wouldn't fire me."

 

“Not unless you did something stupid like sell two thirds of our stock to Disney.” He said teasingly, throwing a napkin at her.

 

Pepper laid on the couch after her doctor's appointment. He had confirmed that she was about four weeks along, nearing the end of her first month, and had said that it was amazing that she had even noticed it. Most women didn't start thinking like that until they were into their second month. But she had always paid close attention to her health so it wasn't a surprise.  
  
She wasn't even sure what she was watching anymore. Distantly she could smell something burning.  
  
He had prescribed a lot of pills though. Those were going to be hard to hide from Tony. So were all the appointments she was going to have to make. Not that she wanted to hide this from him for that long. It would just be a hassle if she had to.

 

“Pepper, what are you doing?!” came a sudden cry. She was wrenched from her thoughts when there was an influx of dark smoke over her head. Tony was throwing on oven mitts and pulling something blackened out of the oven, dropping it on the counter when it burned him through the glove. The fire alarm went off, and Tony snapped at the ceiling, “Jarvis, dammit, nothing’s on fire and you know it! Turn that off!”

 

Pepper jumped to her feet then instantly dropped back down, crouching as she moved to the nearest window and opened it. She would have stood but she didn't want to breathe in any of the smoke and have to deal with any negative effects.  
  
"I completely forgot that was in there." she said sheepishly. "I'm so sorry Tony."

 

“What is _wrong_ with you?” Tony cried as the smoke began trailing out the window. She looked insulted, but he drew up closer to her and took her shoulders in his hands and shook her very gently. “No, _I mean it_ , Pepper what’s wrong with you? You’ve been _weird_.”

 

At first Pepper looked like she was going to hit him. Then her face softened and tears started rolling down her cheeks. She didn't know why she was crying all she knew was that she didn't like Tony yelling at her and wanted it to stop. He wanted to know but she couldn't tell him. Not when he was so angry with her already.  
  
"I'm sorry Tony. I'm really sorry." she cried.

 

He didn’t ask her again, he just pulled her into a tight hug. Her loose bun fell apart when he threaded his fingers through the back of her hair, his other arm flexing strongly over her back, fisting in the material of her blouse. He cradled her close like she was the only thing in the world and let her cry.

 

“You’ve been _weird_.” He whispered again. “Stop it.”

 

"I'm so sorry Tony. Don't be angry. Please." she pleaded into his shirt, no longer sure what she was crying over. He had stopped yelling and the way he was holding her felt right but the sadness and fear had yet to abate. She wrapped her arms around him and let herself cry until she grew weary.

 

He picked her up bridal-style and carried her towards the bedroom, lying her tired frame on the covers. “Sleep, you’re a mess.” He said, smoothing his hand over her forehead and giving her brow a quick kiss.

 

"I love you." she whispered tiredly. She tried to hold onto his shirt but was too tired to get a firm grip on it. "Are you still angry?" Her eyes were barely open at this point. She couldn't remember the last time she'd gotten a full night's sleep and the bed was so soft and warm. But she had to hear Tony's answer before she would let herself drift off.

 

“I was never angry. I’m just worried about you.” He sat on the edge of the bed and continued to smooth his hand over her hair, frowning at how physically exhausted she looked.

 

"I know. I'll tell you soon. I will." she said, her eyes closing as she was lulled to sleep by the gentle hand on her head.

 

 

 

 

She never did get around to telling him. He tried twice over the course of the next week, once right before a meeting and once right after a workout session, but both times she firmly informed him “not now” and continued talking about whatever it was she was talking about.

 

“At this rate, woman, I’m going to _die_ before you tell me what’s wrong.” He grunted, leaning back down on the bench to continue lifting weights.

 

A few days later, the Avengers were called together to take down a terrorist with too many warheads and not enough brain cells. He’d given Pepper a quick kiss in the suit before bringing down the helmet, and he was off, shooting through the air.

 

Pepper watched him fly off then immediately turned to the nearest television and flicked to the news coverage of the attack. Her heart was beating frantically in her chest and she found herself praying for Tony's safe return. She knew nothing she said would make him give up his role as a superhero and she couldn't help both hating and loving him for it. Seeing him fly off into danger had always frightened her but now she felt paralyzed by the fear. What if she lost him? What if this time he didn't come back? His words haunted her, _I’m going to die before you tell me what’s wrong._ He had said it jokingly but what if his words really came true?

 

The bravest news reporters managed to stay on the scene and reported the fight like the play-by-play of a horse race.

 

“The Captain leads the team head-on, in pursuit of this vile terrorist, who refuses to give any sort of name or identity behind that mask. It has been confirmed that it is a man, but no other form of – OH! Carl, are you getting this?”

 

It switched to a helicopter cam, and the destruction of the city of Montreal became all the more real. Buildings were on fire, rubble fell in pieces from tumbling sky scrapers, and little specks of people ran all about below. The terrorist had  just thrown one of his many mini nuclear warheads at Iron Man, who caught it right in the chest. The visual was almost destroyed when a small explosion erupted from the blast, and all that could be seen was a red and gold blue being smashed through the front doors of a once-ritzy hotel.

 

“Iron Man is down!” called a voice from the helicopter. “Repeat, Iron Man is down!”

 

The terrorist began to laugh as the building Tony was thrown into crumbled and collapsed into the street.

 

Pepper's heart jumped to her throat and she suddenly felt dizzy. Tony was... oh god why had she let him leave? She should have told him. Should have made him stay. If he had known he wouldn't have gone and he wouldn't be...  
  
No, no, no. No one had said he was dead. He was hit, injured, but no one had confirmed he was gone. Even if they did she wouldn't believe it. She would never believe it until she saw it with her own eyes.  
  
Without thinking she reached for her car keys and hurried to the elevator. She had to get there, had to see him. She didn't care that she was crying and that she could barely see. She had to get there. She had to see him. She couldn't just sit by and watch.

 

“I wouldn’t recommend driving in your current state, Miss Potts.” Jarvis suddenly spoke up, and her keys weren’t working to unlock her car. “I’ve taken the liberty of putting all the vehicles on lockdown. Your safety is most important.”

 

"I need to get to him Jarvis. If you won't let me drive, then call someone to drive me." she ordered. She has never been mad at the AI before but he'd never tried to stand between her and Tony. Especially not during such a critical time. But at that moment she would have sworn that she hated him for being so damn protective and cautious and sensible.

 

“You need to remain safe, Miss Potts. Heading to the scene of the battle is not safe.” Jarvis said. “Dust and debris and nuclear warheads are all bad for pregnant women.”

 

Pepper froze and turned, as if she could face Jarvis. She had learned to ignore this instinct a while ago but her distress and shock caused a momentary lapse.   
  
"You scanned me, didn't you?" she asked ruefully. She knew awhile ago that Tony had outfitted Jarvis with x-ray and other medical capabilities. She herself had asked him to after finding Tony passed out drunk, near to choking on his own vomit a few too many times. Jarvis was supposed to run occasional scans when things got too quiet or there was some sort of emergency, just to make sure everyone was still alive and well. If he found something out of the ordinary he was supposed to bring it to the awareness of either Tony or Pepper. And he hadn't reported to her.  
  
"Did you tell Tony?" she demanded angrily.

 

“I did not scan you.” Jarvis said. “I survey every inch of this tower every moment of every day, Miss Potts, and I know what a plus sign looks like. I knew as soon as you didn’t inform Mr. Stark of the problem that you were waiting to tell him yourself, and as being pregnant is not a medical illness, I saw no need to tell him for you.”

 

She breathed a sigh of relief. She could still tell Tony herself. If he was alive. She started to cry again, wondering if she had lost him already.  
  
"Jarvis please understand. I need to go to him. I need to know what's happening." she begged.

 

“That’s what the news is for, Miss Potts.” Jarvis said sternly, for once sounding a little less formal. “You are not privileged enough by being the significant other of Iron Man that you can go to the fight scene yourself. Please do not argue with me, it is for the safety of yourself, and also your and Mr. Stark’s child.”

 

Realizing it was useless to fight Pepper went back to the elevator and let herself be directed back upstairs. She wanted nothing more than to reach into the walls and rip out a bit of Jarvis' wiring but she knew better and instead settled herself back on the couch in front of the large television, watching with rapt attention as the Avengers' battle continued.  
  
"Have they said anything about Tony?" she asked Jarvis while watching Thor's hammer narrowly miss the villain, sailing off to the right before abruptly changing course and returning to it's owner's hand.

 

“No. Mr. Stark has not emerged from the building. Dr. Banner is making an attempt to clear away the rubble. My best guess is that Mr. Stark is unconscious, but protected from the debris by the Iron Man suit. He is most likely unharmed, but trapped.”

 

On the screen, Pepper could see the Hulk ripping aside chunk after chunk of rubble and hurling it at the enemy as he went, trying his best to uncover the fallen hero.

 

She watched as the Captain took a bullet from the terrorist’s gun, and was flattened to the ground. He was bleeding, and the reporter wasted no time in telling the “folks at home” that the Captain was “critically injured.”

The Hulk was tossed aside by another warhead, which did him no damage and only served to piss him off – and distract him from the rescue mission for Iron Man. Pepper found herself yelling at the screen for Bruce to go back to digging out Tony, until Jarvis reminded her politely that Bruce couldn’t hear him.

 

Natasha and Clint were nowhere to be seen, as expected, but every once and a while an arrow would go whizzing across the screen and cause another small explosion.

 

“The Avengers are really giving their all here, and they’re getting it all right back.” The reporter said as the camera moved a little farther away from the fight.

 

Natasha reappeared on the scene when an explosion sent her careening over a pile of rubble. She laid, knocked unconscious and bleeding from the forehead, and Clint crouched over her to keep her safe, all the while firing arrow after arrow at the terrorist. He, too, was knocked out when the building above him released a chunk of rubble from a destroyed window sill and it struck him across the head.

 

The Hulk was still giving his all, but Steve appeared to be nursing a broken arm.

 

And there was still no sign of Tony.

  
Pepper had pulled her feet up onto the couch, and was crushing one of the throw pillows to her chest, silent tears rolling down her face. This was all happening too soon, too quickly.

 

“The police have arrived, but it looks like it might be too late,” the reporter’s voice raised over the noise of the fray. “The Avengers are taking quite the kicking here – wait, are you seeing that?”

 

The rubble that was lying over where Tony was suddenly started to light up, stripes of blue and gold light shining up through the dust like a laser show, and then an explosion. One big band of light later and Iron Man was streaking across the sky and came down directly on top of the terrorist before anyone had the chance to blink. The resulting crash was so powerful that the warhead-wielding terrorist was killed instantly, reduced to a messy splatter on the pavement, but not a soul was mourning him.

 

Tony wobbled to his feet a moment later, stepping away from the mess. There would probably be a press nightmare about the fact that he’d killed that terrorist, but he wouldn’t get charged for it. After all, look what that man had done to the city and the people of it.

 

The mask came up on the suit, and Tony looked more than a little disoriented as he shook blood droplets and other human goo off the gloves of his suit.

 

“Tony! Tony Stark!” the camera was wheeling right up to him now. “What do you have to say about what just happened?”

 

“Pineapple.” Tony said, and the mask came back down, his voice now muffled and synthesized. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I have to get back to New York because I _really_ need to get laid.”

 

And like that, he was off again, streaking into the sky. The reporter instantly moved to Steve, to ask him what _he_ thought, and Pepper was off the couch and at the penthouse, waiting for when Tony would land.

 

Tony had barely touched down when Pepper was on him. His mask wasn't even half way up when her arms latched around his neck in what would have been a crushing embrace if not for the protection of his armor.  
  
"You idiot!" she yelled, sobbing against his chest. "You stupid, stupid man! Don't you ever do something like that to me again!"

 

“Well in my defense I didn’t do it _to_ you – ”

 

Tony’s witty response was cut off by a crushing kiss, which he reciprocated eagerly. He was reluctant to hold her because of the strength he possessed in the suit, so he just held her hips in his hands and let her press herself into the cold, worn metal of his suit.

 

Pepper finally broke the kiss, her face still wet with tears. She was breathing hard and still clinging to Tony like her life depended on it.   
  
"I'm pregnant." she whispered.

 

Tony felt like his world stopped spinning and came crashing down on him all at once. He couldn’t breathe, he couldn’t even blink as she pulled away and looked him in the eye. His lips were suspended a little ways open, and he was vaguely aware that Pepper was saying something, but his ears had stopped working.

 

It felt like he was floating, like he was almost waking up from a dream, just barely on the brink of unconsciousness.

 

Pregnant, _Pepper?_ Wasn’t she on birth control? She’d told him a thousand times it was safe, the best birth control available.

 

Pregnant meant a baby. A real life, squirming, wriggly, crying, needy baby. A baby who would depend on him, he would be a father.

 

A father.

 

A _father_.

 

His world came crashing back to him, all of his senses suddenly on fire. He heard Pepper calling his name, he’d zoned out.

 

Suddenly blinking, a grin stretched across his face and he seized Pepper by the hips, spinning her up into the air.

 

He’d fantasized about parenthood ever since his youth, constantly making notes about what his father was doing wrong so he could grow up and do it better. Always sticking it to the man, he was, and it would be one last nudge in the dead man’s side to be a better father than he was.

“Holy _shit_ Pep!” he set her down on wobbly heels, his whole body thrumming with electric energy. A father, a son a daughter of his own, a child, and _Pepper’s_. It couldn’t possibly be better.

 

"You're not upset?" Pepper asked cautiously. She had hoped Tony might surprise her and actually be pleased with the idea of having a baby together but she had never convinced herself it was a real possibility. Especially considering all of Tony's issues with his own father.

 

“Upset, you thought I would be upset?” Tony was still spinning, as if he couldn’t possibly settle on a direction to face. “This is incredible, this is terrifying, this is perfect, this is – ” he stopped and looked at her, his expression serious. “You thought I would be upset?”

 

Pepper looked away, feeling embarrassed. She felt silly to have doubted Tony even though she knew her assumptions were somewhat justified.

 

"You've never said anything about wanting a family." She explained. "I know you love babysitting Matthew but that doesn't mean you want a kid of your own."

 

Tony walked up to her and grabbed her upper arms gently, rubbing his thumbs over her shoulders. “Pepper, I’ve _always_ wanted a child. I’ve wanted one since I was a child, so that I could prove I could do it better than my dad did. I’ve always wanted to be the best father possible, but there’s never been a woman I’ve cared about enough to trust with my child.”

 

"And you care about me that much? Enough to want to have a baby with me?" Pepper asked, tears welling up in her eyes again. Without waiting for an answer she pulled out of Tony's grasp and hugged him again, grinning broadly. "Tony that is the sweetest, most romantic, most beautiful thing you've ever said to me."

 

“Let me get out of this suit,” Tony laughed, prying her off of him and shooing her towards the penthouse. He watched her every step as the rims began to spin and take away the Iron Man suit piece by piece, and he felt like with every part that was stripped away, he was more and more exposed to the idea of being a father. And oh, he liked it.


	2. Ultrasound

"Tony I'm putting my foot down on this one." Pepper said, leaning against the table in Tony's lab, arms crossed. "I love Jarvis as much as you do but I want a doctor for this. Someone who can tell us that he or she is progressing as they should or tell us if something is wrong."   
  
Her eyes were hard as steel and everything about her posture screamed that she was ready for a fight. Pepper was usually fairly indulgent of Tony and his inventions but this time she really was putting her foot down. 

 

“Come on, Pep, this isn’t a big deal. I put in all the right equipment, he _knows_ what he’s doing. He’s got a hand way steadier than any doctor’s, besides it’s just rolling a ball over some goo, a _monkey_ could do it!”

 

“Miss Potts, I have downloaded all the proper programs.” Jarvis said from the ceiling. “The only difference between myself and a doctor is a degree.”

 

“You want me to send Jarvis to college?” Tony asked, “Because he’d graduate in, like, a week.”

 

"Jarvis can't prescribe pills if I need them." Pepper argued. She was tired and nauseous and really not in the mood to argue but she wasn't going to back down.

 

“I can.” Jarvis corrected.

 

“Legally.” Tony added. “Don’t you remember we dabbled in medicine a few years ago, but didn’t really go anywhere with it? Yeah, well, that gave us certain rights.”

 

Pepper shook her head. "I want someone else involved in this Tony. Someone who's had experience with this sort of thing before. I trust Jarvis with my life but a few downloaded programs does not add up to years of experience."

 

“I’m hurt.” Oh, if Jarvis could pout.

 

“Just this once.” Tony rubbed his palms up and down Pepper’s upper arms. “And then we can go to a human doctor. But just this once, let me prove to you that I did this right. And that Jarvis could put gynecologists to shame with the amount of tech and programs I poured into him.”

 

"Fine." Pepper said, rolling her eyes. "If you can at least agree to let Bruce look over the images after. Just to make sure everything checks out. I trust Jarvis but this is the first time running an experimental program and I want to be sure."

 

“It’s not the first time.” Tony argued, “I had him take all the final exams necessary for a doctor to graduate with top marks. A baby doctor, anyway.”

 

“I got a 100%.” Jarvis sounded proud of himself.

 

“But yeah, Bruce can be involved if it makes you feel better. He’s a little nervous about another baby being let loose around the tower, but I’m sure he’ll put his hands in the pot if I bat my eyelashes at him.” Tony smirked.

 

"Taking the exams is different from actually running an ultrasound." Pepper said though she was smiling now. She leaned over and gave Tony a kiss on the cheek. "But thank you Tony. So how do we do this?"

 

A few days later, Pepper was lying on a rather comfy cot with plusher pillows than any hospital would provide (Tony pointed out) with her shirt ridden up to show her belly, which was still flat. Bruce was sitting a little awkwardly and looking everywhere but at Pepper’s tummy. Tony looked excited as he affixed the proper equipment to the skinny little arm-like devices that had dropped out of a panel in the ceiling.

 

“This will be cold.” Jarvis warned her as tony spread the necessary goo over her middle, and laughed when she jumped at the temperature. Jarvis immediately set to work while Tony stepped aside to wash his hands.

 

A screen next to them flickered to life, a grainy black and white image appearing before them. Shapes started to emerge and solidify as the instruments moved around on her lower belly, eventually stopping over what could only be their baby.   
  
Pepper immediately reached out for Tony's hand, her eyes never leaving the screen. The embryo looked like little more than a jelly bean but there was definitely a head and what might have been a tiny arm.

 

Bruce was feeling even more awkward now as he reached towards the screen, “That dotted line is the spine,” he explained, “And at this point that curve in the middle is its torso. It sort of looks like a seamonkey, and it will for a while longer.”

 

Tony wasn’t really listening. He was staring at the screen with rapt attention, he wasn’t even blinking. It was hideous, honestly, grotesque and bent oddly and bulbous. But looking at that image and knowing everything it represented, he was almost in tears.

 

“Pepper, look at that,” He whispered breathily. “It’s beautiful.”

 

"It's the most amazing thing I've ever seen." Pepper said. She was really getting tired of crying but it was impossible to fight the tears. "That's our baby. Can you believe it?"

 

“ _I_ can’t.” Jarvis said. “I assumed Mr. Stark was infertile.”

 

Pepper laughed and squeezed Tony's hand affectionately while he frowned at the AI. "Well Tony is always full of surprises. Does it look healthy?" she asked, not sure whether she was directing the question at Bruce or Jarvis.

 

“I’ve never seen an embryo in person, if you’ll pardon my use of the term.” Jarvis said. “But it appears functional.”

 

“Yes.” Bruce corrected with a nervous chuckle. “It looks completely normal. No abnormalities, no second heads or weird growths. Heart rate is steady, see that little fluctuating grey spot near the middle of the bulge? That’s its heartbeat.”

 

Pepper's grip on Tony's hand tightened just a little. Her baby's heartbeat. She was seeing her baby's heartbeat, absolute proof that he or she was alive and well, growing inside her. Proof that she was on her way to becoming a mother.

 

Tony looked like he was about to cry as silence filled the room, the two of them wishing they could _hear_ the heartbeat they were watching. Suddenly Tony sniffled loudly and pulled away from Pepper’s hand.

 

“And there’s one more surprise I have.” He said with a wide grin. “I’ve actually been working on it in bits and pieces over the last eight years, but I never _really_ had a need for it until now, so I’ve spent my free time – ”

 

“You mean the time when you _should_ have been doing the paperwork Miss Potts sent to your lab.” Jarvis interrupted.

 

“ – right, I’ve been using that time to finish this little project.” He disappeared into the adjacent room, and there was some clicking and whirring and a loud clunk before a blonde man with a trimmed mustache dressed in an impeccable suit walked into the room, followed by Tony.

 

“Miss Potts.” The man said in the same voice that had been coming from the ceiling not a minute before.

 

"Jarvis!" Pepper said with a mix of shock and delight. She hurriedly pulled her shirt down and turned to face the android, giving him a hug once he was close enough. She should have known Tony would pull something like this but she was happy she hadn't guessed. This was one of the few of Tony's surprises that she liked.  
  
"This is amazing!" she said, pulling away from the android to look him up and down. "Tony this is wonderful."

 

“His skin is made of silicone,” Tony said, lifting Jarvis’ sleeve so Pepper could give his arm a squeeze to test. “And I’ve added thin copper wiring all through it so the false skin can heat up if he needs to hold the baby, so it’s more comfortable. The skeleton inside is fiberglass and aluminum, lightweight and flexible. He has full range of motion, just like any human, and every joint works as it should. He’s even got his own arc reactor to keep himself running, it’s more convenient than batteries.” Tony looked incredibly pleased with himself. “This way we don’t have to hire a baby sitter. No one’s going to look after our little one better than Jarvis himself.” 

 

The only thing that made Jarvis look even remotely inhuman, were his eyes, which glowed a shade of blue yet to appear in humankind.

 

“I even added an electrical system wired to a hard drive in his head that runs through every copper wire in the false skin.” Tony beamed now, his hands on his hips. “They act as nerve endings, so he can _feel_. He spent the past forty eight hours just _touching_ things, it was pretty funny. That way he knows he’s not putting too much pressure on the baby if he’s holding it, and he can feel if the baby is too hot or too cold.”

 

"You built the ultimate babysitter." Pepper laughed. "Didn't trust him to just supervise whichever of the Avengers we would have hired?" She did like the idea though. There were few people she would trust with her baby and Jarvis was certainly on the list. Next would probably be Phil and it would be nice to be able to go out with him and Clint and not have to worry about trying to track down a sitter for their son Matthew and her new baby.

 

“I did indeed, and I’m pretty proud of myself for it.” Tony clapped Jarvis on the back, and the blonde coughed and almost fell forward.

 

“It is interesting to be in a human body.” Jarvis said, giving Tony a wary expression and stepping to the side. “It’s very… limiting.”

 

Suddenly the arms in the ceiling lifted up, and reemerged with a damp cloth. The arms wasted no time in pushing her gently back down on the cot in order to wipe away the remaining goo from her middle.

 

“He still has full control over the tower while in this body.” Tony said as the arms lifted back into the ceiling.

 

"World's greatest multitasker." Pepper teased. "What do you think of all this Bruce? I assumed you helped?"

 

“I’m the one who suggested that Jarvis not have any _extracurricular_ body parts, if you understand my meaning.” Bruce laughed weakly. “Tony wanted him to have full functionality in that respect, but I thought it would just be distracting.”

 

Pepper laughed. She could so easily imagine that discussion. It was so very Tony to want Jarvis to be completely anatomically correct. He was probably thoroughly scandalized at the thought of anything less. "I agree. Natasha wouldn't be able to keep her hands off him if he were fully functional."

 

“I was not programmed to have interest in sexual conquest.” Jarvis explained.

 

“That was before you had a body. I didn’t want the voice in my ceiling capable of getting horny. I might change your programming now.” Tony snorted.

 

"Leave him alone Tony. If Jarvis doesn't want to get mixed up in our insane human drama you're not going to force him." Pepper scolded. "You leave him be. If he decides that's what he wants he can ask you."

 

“He can’t know he wants it if he’s never tried it.” Tony said. “How can he –”

 

“I don’t want it.” Jarvis stated firmly with a polite smile. “I would prefer not to have this incredibly state-of-the-art humanoid body marketed as the first-ever living sex doll.”

 

Pepper smiled and took Tony's hand and started tugging him towards the door. "And if that's what you want Jarvis, that's how things will stay. Now if this examination is over I know a lovely billionaire who is going to give me a foot massage."


	3. Naming the baby

“Is it showing yet?” Pepper lifted up her night blouse and turned to the side. Tony was lying on his stomach on the bed with his head tilted and his eyes squinted just a little bit.

 

“I can’t tell… come closer. Closer. Closer.” Once she was close enough, he grabbed her by the hips and jerked her forward, squealing, onto the bed and rolled on top of her, making noisy kisses and nibbles on her belly while she kicked her legs helplessly.

 

"Stop it. Stop it!" Pepper laughed, pulling Tony up beside her so she could use his shoulder as a pillow. She snuggled up against him, one arm thrown over his chest, the other tucked into her side and sighed. This was so perfect.  
  
"Do you think it's going to be a boy or girl?" she asked lazily.

 

“Boy.” Tony said decisively. “At least I hope so. I’m not sure I could handle all the drama that girls go through between the ages of 12 and… death.”

 

"Really?" Pepper asked. "I'd think a boy would be more of a headache. Always getting into trouble, getting themselves hurt. I'd rather deal with the drama than trying to keep two of you out of trouble."

 

“Well yeah, that’s because you’re a woman. You know how to deal with woman drama.”

 

“Boys have drama.” Pepper leaned up onto her elbow.

 

“Yeah, but boy drama, _Dad help, I’m not getting laid_. That I can help with, that I’m an expert on. Girl drama, I said I didn’t like her skinny jeans two weeks ago and she’s still not talking to me.” Tony laughed.

 

"She would want you to hate her skinny jeans. Dads aren't supposed to like what their daughters wear. As long as you don't call her fat you're set on the battle of the skinny jeans." Pepper giggled. "But imagine a little boy.  _'Daddy what happens if I unplug this'_ or _'I wonder what happens when I stick a screwdriver in an electrical socket.'_ " Pepper faked a shiver. "Gives me nightmares just thinking about it."

 

“Boys are supposed to experiment. I can help him with that. How the hell am I supposed to bond with a girl? I want to be a good father, but I can’t bring my little princess into the lab. I’ll never see her all day. I’ll be no better than my own father.”

 

"I'm sure you'd find a way. Girls can play with tools too you know." she said. "It doesn't really matter. Either way they’re ours and we'll still love them. And we can't change anything now."

 

Tony sighed as he played idly with Pepper’s hair, staring listlessly up at the ceiling. “What are we going to name it?” he asked suddenly.

 

"Not Anthony." was Pepper's first thought and she said as much. "I'm not having a little Tony Stark junior running around. If it's a boy you're going to ruin him enough with him trying to live up to his namesake."

 

“How about if it’s a girl you can name it, and if it’s a boy, I can name it? I mean, as long as we agree. I don’t want a little Jemima Stark running around even if it’s your favorite name ever.”

 

"Where did you come up with a name like Jemima?" she asked before deciding she really didn't want to know. "Maybe we should come up with a short list of acceptable names for each gender that we can pick from later."

 

“Okay, shoot.” Tony looked down at her expectantly as he began to wiggle the sheets over their bodies. “Any names you have off the top of your head?”

 

Pepper thought about it for a moment. She'd never really considered baby names besides knowing she wasn't going to name her child after a state or something like that.  
  
"I like Claire." she said. "It's classic. Juliet or Bianca would be nice too. Or Abigail."

 

“Ooh, Juliet.” Tony pointed a finger at the ceiling to punctuate. “Juliet, I like that. Abigail is a no, Bianca is too… snooty. Claire Stark sounds like a zit cream.”

 

"Alright." Pepper laughed. She had to agree, once the name was said out loud it sounded wrong. "What about Alice or Madelyn?"

 

“Everyone and their cat is named Alice.” Tony snorted. “Plus, _Alice Stark?_ There’s no way to tell where the first name ends and the last name begins, it sounds like one word. Alistark. Like Alistair. Like the biblical demon. We don’t need that kind of publicity.”

 

"Isabella? Or Lucille? I like Nadina." Pepper suggested. "Nadina Stark doesn't sound bad."

 

“Lucille, I’m a fan.” Tony said with a smile, “I like Juliet or Lucille. Lucy Stark sounds cute. Nadina sounds… like, German. I like the name Nancy. Or Carol.”

 

"Nancy and Carol sound old." Pepper replied. "Maybe Violet? I like Violet. And you never said anything about Madelyn."

 

“I like Violet.” Tony agreed, still gesturing at the ceiling. “I like Violet a lot. That’s the only flower name I’ll agree on though, you’re not naming our daughter Daisy or Petunia. Not a fan of Madelyn, I don’t like the name Maddie, and she’ll inevitably want to be called that. What about you, Jarvis? What do you like?”

 

“Angel.” Jarvis answered from the ceiling, without missing a beat.

 

"Angel Stark?" Pepper asked, wrinkling her nose. "No offense Jarvis but I don't think so.”

 

“None taken. Not my child. I’ll simply have to wait until I have a daughter of my own.” Jarvis teased.

 

“Juliet, Violet or Lucille. I can work with those choices. Now what do you say for a boy Mr. Stark?" Pepper laughed.

 

“I’ve been thinking about it since I was a child.” Tony said, his hand dropping and suddenly sounding subdued. “I wanted a son named Vincent. But ever since the incident in the cave a few years back, ever since what I witnessed and what came to pass… I reevaluated my life goals and what it means to be alive. What it means to be part of a family, to have a child, to have a name. A name is identity, and mine was stolen by those men, stolen and used for their own means.”

 

He looked over at her, his expression serious. “My son’s name will be Lazarus.”

 

This, clearly, was not up for discussion.

 

Pepper smiled and snuggled closer to Tony. The name was unconventional but so was everything Tony did. She had never thought he would choose anything simple like John or David. And hearing the conviction in his voice, the firm way he said 'my son', with absolutely no doubt or hesitation was so wonderful and reassuring that she wouldn't have protested even if she wanted to.  
  
"Lazarus Stark then. If it's a boy." she added. "Do we want to find out before it's born?”

 

Tony shook his head and screwed up his nose. “Nah, I don’t want to spoil it. It’s the one really good surprise that’s left in the world, things have become so predictable. Let’s wait until the birth to find out. You have until then to settle on two of those names, first and middle. Lazarus’ middle name will probably be Vincent, unless you protest?”

 

Pepper shook her head. She had no problem with Lazarus Vincent as their son's name. She actually liked it.

 

"Violet Lucille sounds nice." She mused.

 

Tony was silent for a while, the sound of his breathing growing progressively thicker. When he spoke again, he was quiet and his voice was a strained whisper.

 

“ _We’re having a baby_.”

 

"Yes."

 

There was nothing else she could say. They were having a baby. She and Tony were going to bring another person into the world to raise and love. It was an intimidating prospect but she couldn't be happier and she was sure Tony felt the same.  
  
"And you will be a wonderful father." she assured him.

 

“I hope so,” he said quietly, voice filled with trepidation. “There’s only one shot at it. And there are no manuals or blueprints for parenthood that I can study.”

 

"True. But you care enough to be scared of doing it wrong. That's a good start." Pepper said, trying to comfort him. "I don't know if I'll be a good mother but I'm going to try."

 

“You parent me enough.” Tony laughed. “You’ll do even better with your own baby.”

 

There was silence for a while before Tony turned on his side and wrapped both his arms all the way around Pepper’s waist. His face ended up buried between her breasts, but it was easy to tell that he wasn’t being lewd. His eyes were closed and his cheek was turned, and his arms were squeezing her just tight enough that she knew he was scared.

 

With one hand she held him and with the other she stroked his hair, trying to soothe him. This wasn't the first time Pepper had seen Tony vulnerable. She'd been there to take care of him when he got sick and she had been there for him after Obediah had betrayed him. But this time felt different somehow.  
  
"It's going to be fine Tony. You've done right by me and you'll do right by this baby." Pepper reassured him. "Plus, we've got all of the Avengers to help us."

 

Tony made a small, insecure noise, bordering on a whimper. He pressed his face a little closer to her, as if he was trying to hide between the swell of her breasts. His arms tightened just a fraction more, his thumbs massaging her sides as he tried to steady his breathing.

 

"I love you." she whispered to him. "I love you and I trust you. And you trust me, right?"

 

He nodded his head slowly, his beard scratching her chest gently. “Yeah. I trust you.” He whispered back, his breath hot down her belly.

 

She smiled and ran her fingers through his hair. "Then when I say we're going to be alright and you're going to be a great father you have to trust me. Because I know it's true and I'd bet my life on it. We'll make mistakes but in the end we're going to get most of it right. Because you're not your father Tony. You know better and you'll be better."

 

She felt a wet spot forming on the front of her night blouse, but didn’t say anything. She let Tony hold her for a few more minutes before he softly muttered for Jarvis to turn off the lights. Left in darkness, he finally shuffled back up to lay even with her. He pressed a tender kiss to the corner of her lips before he pulled the blankets over them and draped his arm over Pepper’s waist, announcing that it was definitely time to stop talking and start sleeping.


	4. First kicks

"I've got a list here of the people you'll want to at least say hello to, I've marked the ones who have a lot of influence so you'll remember to be nice," Pepper said, shifting her notes and schedules for the fundraiser she and Tony were on their way to in search of the wayward list. She pulled it out and quickly handed it over to Tony before going back to her schedule. "You are allowed two drinks and I mean two. I'm not having anything at all and if I have to be sober you have to mostly sober. And try to be nice to the politicians alright? Technically you work with a military agency now so you need to learn to play nice with these people. I'll try to steer you clear of them when I can but I can't-"  
  
Pepper suddenly stopped, her papers slipping from her hands. She placed a hand on her stomach in surprise. She was sure she had felt something. At first it had felt like a light fluttering and she had almost written it off as nerves but she could feel a distinct tapping now. It was there, repetitive and solid.  
  
" _Tony,_ " she said urgently, reaching for his hand.

 

Tony had almost flown into panic mode when she dropped her things. He thought something was going wrong, and he only had a split second to rationalize the situation before his hand was pressed to her slightly round belly.

 

“What, what, are you okay, what’s wrong, Pep – ”

 

His voice died in his throat when he felt a little thumping against his palm. His breathing hitched and he looked up into her eyes, both of them startled and quieted.

 

"It's kicking." Pepper said. Her voice was low and her eyes wide with awe. "Our baby is kicking."  
  
She had heard that it was supposed to be an amazing experience, feeling that life inside you for the first time. She expected it to be something special but she had never thought it would be like this. She had never expected to feel so in awe of such a small feeling.

 

Tony’s face split open in a wide grin. “Holy shit!” he laughed, and she laughed right after. He spun her around a few times as energy surged through him. He didn’t even know what to do with himself. “Our baby’s _kicking!_ ”

 

Peper couldn't stop herself from laughing. Her baby was kicking! He or she was alive and moving inside her and it was amazing. And having Tony there with her and seeing how happy it made him only made that moment better.   
  
"They're going to be strong. I can tell." Pepper said with a grin.

 

“He – or, or she – is gonna be a _fighter_.” Tony suddenly went down on his knees in front of Pepper, both his hands on her belly through her shirt. He was out of breath from flitting around her in circles and he pressed his forehead to the swell of her tummy. “Oh my god, Pepper, I’m just going to go into cardiac arrest before you give birth if I keep getting this excited.”

 

"Don't you dare say that." Pepper scolded playfully. "I worry enough about you as it is. Besides, I'm going to need you alive and well so I can break your fingers while I give birth."  
  
She knew Tony had meant it as a joke but ever since that time she had accidentally sent him into cardiac arrest she had been uneasy about how fragile his health might be. She knew his arc reactor would keep him safe from a lot of the things most people had to worry about but if something went wrong...

 

“Sorry, phrasing.” He muttered, his breath hot on her belly, his fingers still spread wide across the lavender silk of her blouse. He finally creaked his way to a stand and looked Pepper in the eyes for a few seconds, before cupping her face and pressing a solid kiss to her mouth. When they broke apart, their breath mingling, they started to giggle again in unison.

 

"Tony this is all so..." Pepper sighed, looking for the right word. "Amazing. I guess. I can actually feel the life we made moving inside me. I'm not even sure how I'm supposed to react to this."

 

“I think you’re reacting right.” Tony’s hands still cupped her face as he looked into her eyes so deeply they both appeared to only have one eye.

 

He finally stepped back and stooped to begin collecting the papers and things she dropped, trying to make them more or less face the same direction as the banged the edged together to make an orderly pile.

 

“And there you have it, Miss Potts.” He said with a grin as he handed the stack to her. “The baby’s kicking, and the car’s waiting. Shall we go?”

 

"Yes Mr. Stark I think we shall." she said, taking his arm and letting him lead the way out to the limo. Pepper tried to continue her lecture through the ride but kept stopping to smile at Tony. Eventually she gave up and decided just to keep an eye on him so he wouldn't do anything stupid.  
  
She managed pretty well for a while. She spent some time talking to other CEO's and some of their shareholders, subtly keeping an eye on Tony all the while in case she needed to excuse herself and pull him out of anything. She was still giddy from her earlier experience and had just excused herself from an impromptu meeting of some investors to get some water when she caught sight of one of the few people who might manage to ruin her good mood.  
  
"Ms. Everhart, correct?" she asked as the blond woman claimed the seat next to her at the bar.

 

“Yes.” The woman said with a sugary grin. “Do you think you could spare me a couple questions? There are some things the public is dying to know about your position as CEO of Mr. Stark’s corporation.”

 

Pepper smiled as politely as she could and nodded. "I would be more than happy to answer any questions you might have."

 

Ms. Everheart pulled out a recorder and switched it on, holding it up to Pepper. Tony was drifting a little bit closer, eyeing the woman uneasily. He made eye contact with Pepper, who gave him a reassuring smile.

 

“The public is dying to know,” the Vanity Fair reporter started. “How you’re coping with the stress of working as CEO of such an important corporation.”

 

"Well I've been managing for three years and haven't ruined the company or had a mental breakdown. In fact the company has thrived and I've managed to balance my work with a committed relationship so I would say I've been coping pretty well. It's tough but I think I've proven I can handle it." Pepper replied confidently. She loved her job and was proud of the work she had done. She had no problem telling that to anyone, especially Christine Everhart.

 

“Mh, mh-hmm?” Christine said, the stupid smile still on her face. “Is that so? Because honestly, it seems like you aren’t doing such a good job coping after all. You’ve got a boyfriend, you say? And such a stressful job, you’re keeping _that_ afloat… but not your personal health. Would you care to comment on your recent weight gain?”

 

She boldly tapped a finger to Pepper’s belly, which had just started to show only recently, despite Pepper’s use of loose-fitting blouses.

 

Pepper flushed. She and Tony hadn't made the public aware of their situation yet. They had wanted some time to simply enjoy their good news before the press started sticking their noses into it. And now this woman had to audacity to ask about something so personal that was frankly none of her business?

 

"My weight is hardly the publics concern. And I would warn you against making assumptions." Pepper said, her tone too polite to be sincere. "There may be more to the situation than you know and you wouldn't want to jump the wrong conclusion now would you? I would imagine that could make you look pretty foolish."

 

“If you don’t talk about it, then the pubic will draw any conclusion they like.” Christine continued to smile.

 

Suddenly sensing danger, Tony swooped down to save the day. Placing his hands boldly on both of Pepper’s hips, he gave Christine a disarming smile.

 

“ _Actually_ Pepper isn’t gaining any weight at all.” He said loudly, so that every one of his words was clearly picked up by the mic. “The _baby inside her_ is. In fact, that’s _my_ baby. I’d say combined with the stress of the job, dealing with _my_ shenanigans, _and_ being pregnant, Pepper’s going above and beyond the expectation of any woman. I’ve never met such an amazing woman in my life, and I mean _never_.” He gave Christine a pointed stare.

 

"That really wasn't how I had planned on letting the world know, Tony." Pepper scolded without any real bitterness. Her cheeks were burning but she appreciated Tony's confidence in her even if she was a little miffed that he had thought it necessary to swoop in and save the day. It was nice to hear that he did appreciate the work that she did though so she decided to let it slide, just this once.

 

“Yeah, well, win some lose some.” He muttered.  
  
Turning her attention back to Christine she pasted on that fake smile again and asked, "Do you have any further questions?"

 

“When’s the wedding?”

 

Tony felt his stomach drop into the center of the earth. There was no possible way to recover from that question and still look good. Because the truth of the matter was, he and Pepper weren’t getting married.

 

"I have too much to do without planning a wedding." Pepper replied coolly. Honestly she and Tony hadn't talked about it but she highly doubted he wanted to get married. He might have surprised her about wanting a family but she was sure she knew him well enough to say that he had no desire to go through all the hassle that getting married required.   
  
"Besides," she continued, "If we were to get married it would be a small wedding. Friends and family. The press wouldn't hear about it until after it was over."

 

“ _If?_ ” Christine repeated. “Tony Stark’s baby is going to be born out of wedlock, with a employee in his company? The scandal.”

 

“Actually we’re getting married in two hours, top floor of Stark Tower, and you’re not invited. If that’s all, Pepper and I will be going, we have some business to attend to before then. Talk to you later.” He gave her a wink, and then ushered Pepper away by her hips, leaving Christine to make a hasty phone call.

 

After seeing the look Pepper was giving him, he sighed, and stopped them when they were far enough away from Christine. “Do you need to get married?” he asked with a strained expression. “Because I can give you that, if you need it.”

 

Pepper considered telling him that yes, she did need that, just to watch him squirm. It would serve him right for lying like that. But seeing his face she sighed and decided to have mercy on him.  
  
"No Tony." she said. "I don't need to get married. I'm already the main beneficiary of your will and there isn't much for you to inherit if I die and any other benefits are negligible. Besides, we've been acting like a married couple for the last fifteen years. Why bother with the paperwork?"  
  
It wasn't that she didn't want to get married. She would more than happily accept if he asked but only if he really asked. She wasn't going to force him.

 

The tension seemed to deflate out of Tony. “Okay, alright,” he breathed, his hands rubbing up and down her upper arms, probably to soothe himself more than her. “Okay,” he repeated, standing up a little taller. “I’m going to go do some damage control like  the super hero I am, you keep doing your Pepper thing.” He gave her a peck on the cheek before disappearing into the crowd.


	5. Cravings

Pepper couldn't sleep. It was past three in the morning and she knew she should be sleeping. She had meetings tomorrow and she needed all the energy she could get. This baby made her sore and hungry and constantly exhausted and if she planned on making it through tomorrow she needed her sleep. But she just couldn't. She just wasn't tired.

She was hungry.

As quietly as she could she slipped out of bed, being careful not to jostle Tony, and tiptoed out of their bedroom to the kitchen. She began opening cupboards, rooting around for something to eat but nothing appealed to her. She didn't want chips and the thought of soup or pasta made her nauseous.

She moved on to the fridge and caught sight of some cocktail shrimp, already cooked and just waiting to be eaten. Eagerly she snatched them up. Shrimp sounded perfect. Just not alone. She wanted something to go with them. She kept looking before coming across a carton of blueberries. Excellent.

Food in hand she moved to the living room, flicked on the tv, and settled down to eat.

Tony awoke with a start after another nightmare. He’d been having them for a long time now. Almost a month straight, but he managed to hide the effects from Pepper. He wasn’t sleeping well, but with a little careful makeup, he could hide the dark circles that had formed under his eyes.

 

He was shivering with residual emotions, almost in tears as he ran his hands over his face.

 

Always the same dream, night after night.

 

_“She’s losing blood, quick get some oxygen in her!”_

_“Pepper, Pepper! What’s going on!?”_

_“You need to leave the room, sir,”_

_…_

_“We’re sorry to inform you that Miss Potts did not make it. And in the complications, neither did your child_. _”_

 

His breath was shuddering and his shoulders were shaking as tearless sobs wracked him. He turned to look over at Pepper’s face, it always calmed him in the middle of the night when he could look over at her peaceful, sleeping face after one of his nightmares. But she wasn’t there.

 

Panic gripped him for just a moment, but he realized quickly that he was being silly. Pepper was fine, she was probably in the bathroom. But no, the door was open and the light was off. She always turned the light on. The bedroom door was open, too, and before he could think he was on his feet and headed down the hall.

 

There was a flickering, blue light on at the end of the hall – the TV was on. Curiously, he moved forward and peeked around the corner.

 

Pepper was sitting on the couch with her legs tucked up beside her, wearing her white silk nightgown, and eating… shrimp and blueberries?

 

“Pepper?” he said, moving into the light of the TV.

 

She flinched looked up at him a little sheepishly but not putting down the shrimp she had been about to eat. She knew how must look completely ridiculous her, hair a mess, two fingers stained purple with blueberry juice and a half empty plate of shrimp beside her. Usually she was so careful with her appearance but right then she couldn't even be bothered to care.

 

"I was hungry." She said in her own defense.

 

“Are you… are you eating shrimp… with blueberries?” Tony blinked at the containers beside her. “While watching an infomercial for faucet heads?”

 

"Yes." Pepper replied as if it was the most natural thing in the world. She knew deep down that it was probably a little odd but right now the mingled taste of shrimp and berries was the most delicious thing she could imagine. And there wasn't really much else on at this time of night except televangelists and raunchy cartoons. The infomercial was honestly the most interesting thing she could find.

 

Tony suddenly started to laugh, and heaved himself over the back of the couch to land beside her. She grabbed up the plate of shrimp to keep it from toppling over and Tony reached for the remote in order to mute the television.

 

He looked at her, how tired and unkempt and _natural_ she looked, hugging a plate of shrimp with mussed hair and a somewhat embarrassed expression.

 

“You are so beautiful.” Tony smiled.

 

She gave him a look of sheer disbelief. "I'm a sleep rumpled, blue berry stained, shrimp hugging mess Tony. 'Beautiful' is not the first word that comes to mind."

 

He took the shrimp from her and put the plate on the table before pushing her down on her back and settling over her, propping himself up on his elbows so he could look down at her without crushing her belly.

 

“You,” he started, kissing her neck. “Are the most beautiful,” another kiss “Wonderful,” on her jaw, “ _Beautiful_ woman I have ever laid eyes on.”

 

Looking her in the eyes again, visions of losing her again and again in his dreams flashed before him and he hid his face in her neck.

 

“I have never seen you look so beautiful,” he whispered.

 

Pepper laughed and turned her head to press a quick kiss to his hair.

 

"Aren't you sweet." She teased. "I'm glad you think so because I have a feeling that this," she gestured to the scene as a whole, "might not be a one time thing."

 

“That’s okay.” Tony nudged her ear with his nose. “You’re having cravings, and that’s normal. In fact it’s incredibly normal. Which means that everything is progressing… normally.” He sighed and squeezed his eyes shut.

 

"My progress is perfect if you listen to Bruce or Jarvis. I'm at a healthy size, the baby's been kicking away and I’m having all the usual aches and pains." Pepper said. "And I'm hungry. So if you're going to stay you're going to have to get off so I can eat."

 

Tony breathed out again and pushed off his elbows to sit beside her. He set the shrimp back in her lap and took a blueberry for himself.

 

“So, anything interesting about faucets?” he asked.

 

"Not really." Pepper laughed. She leaned over and gave Tony a quick kiss on the cheek. "Why don't you go pick out a movie for us? I think we might be here for a while."

 

One trip through Netflix’s extensive library (made more extensive due to the fact that Tony had access to everything ever) and they were watching Pepper’s favorite movie, _Kate and Leopold_. Tony didn’t really have a problem with it, even though he’d seen it probably over twenty-five times, and Pepper knew all the lines to the point where she was mouthing along with the actors.

 

He had his arm around her while she continued to eat shrimp and blueberries, and he was able to zone out and got lost in his thoughts. How could he ensure that everything was safe for Pepper and the baby? He wasn’t a doctor, he’d have to do some research.  

 

"You're thinking too much Tony. Whatever it is it can wait until tomorrow." Pepper said, holding up a blueberry for him. She could see the line creasing his brows, the same one he always got when his mind was set on some particularly hard problem made all the more annoying by the fact that he was a genius and shouldn't have hard problems. His words, not hers.

 

He flinched, startled from his thought process as he accepted the berry from her fingers. “Sorry, Pep.” He muttered, shaking his head and forcing a smile. “I’m not thinking, I’m just tired. Aren’t you? You have to get up early tomorrow, and I don’t.”

 

"I'm exhausted." Pepper admitted. "But I'm too sore and hungry to sleep." She finished off another shrimp and followed it with three more berries. "And hunger is something I can fix."

 

Tony laughed and rubbed her shoulder with his thumb, his eyes glazing over again as he looked back at the screen. He wasn’t really tired, but she seemed to buy it. “I’m surprised shrimp and blueberries aren’t marketed together more often in restaurants.”

 

"It's an odd flavor combination." Pepper replied, eating a shrimp and a few berries at the same time. "Not something you would serve in one of your five star restaurants. They might serve it in a restaurant meant to satisfy the cravings of women in my condition."

 

“In your condition?” Tony laughed, and it came out more forced and nervous than he meant it to. “Pep, it’s not a medical disease. It’s not like you’ve got some… parasite.”

 

"If you think about it technically that's exactly what a fetus is. The world's most beloved form of parasite." Pepper laughed. "And I wouldn't get rid of it for the world." She placed a hand on her swollen belly, smiling fondly as she felt the baby move.

 

"If you think about it technically that's exactly what a fetus is. The world's most beloved form of parasite." Pepper laughed. "And I wouldn't get rid of it for the world." She placed a hand on her swollen belly, smiling fondly as she felt the baby move.

 

Tony suddenly laid down and put his head in her lap so he could press his ear to her belly. He heard a light fluttering heartbeat within her, fluttering in between Pepper’s own, louder heart beat. He closed his eyes with a fond smile, focusing on his own pulse and wondering if they would synch up.

 

"It's a little humbling isn't it?" Pepper asked, smiling down at him. "Being able to actually hear and feel it all. Knowing that we all started out as something so small and fragile."

 

Tony breathed out slowly through his nose, squeezing his eyes shut to back away from the split-second need to cry.

 

“I didn’t. I was never a baby.” He finally said, opening his eyes to give Pepper a cheeky grin. “I popped out of a machine my dad built fully grown.”

 

"Of course. A bit like Steve then. With some obvious improvements to the formula." Pepper laughed, reaching down to pet his hair. She knew Tony had often thought his father compared him to Steve and that was part of what had made their relationship so strained. She could see how competitive Tony was with the Captain, always doing his best to prove himself superior, and while she liked Rogers well enough she tried to make it as obvious as she could who her favorite was.

 

“Well yeah, we can’t _all_ have the good fortune of being wrinkly, graying brunette midgets.” He said, flexing his arm and squeezing it for good show.

 

"I prefer brains to brawn." Pepper replied matter of factly.

 

“Clearly. Otherwise you would have gone for tall green and horrifying.” He grinned up at her, staring at her tired features upside down.

 

"Green isn't my color." she said, popping another blueberry into her mouth and dropping one to him. "Besides, I've gotten accustomed to a certain life style. It's your money that keeps me here. And the sex, obviously."

 

“I _knew_ you were using me for my money and my body.” Tony sighed exasperatedly. “I bet you don’t even remember my name.”

 

Pepper drew her brows together, the corners of her lips turned down in a look of confusion.

 

"Ted right?"

 

Tony faked a loud sob and turned over on his side to face away from Pepper. “I knew it!”

 

"Oh stop being so dramatic and have a shrimp." Pepper laughed. "Its not like you remember my real name."

 

“Virginia.” Tony suddenly said, accepting the shrimp from Pepper and popping it into his mouth. “Pepper suits you better.”

 

Pepper rolled her eyes. She didn't disagree but this was probably the thirtieth time they had had this conversation.

 

It didn’t take long for Tony to fall asleep again, his head cradled in what was left of Pepper’s lap that wasn’t occupied by her growing belly. He didn’t have any more nightmares that night.


	6. Shopping

"Tony, no." Pepper said, with a roll of her eyes. She had been too busy looking at cribs to notice what Tony had been loading into their cart but once she had looked it became impossible to ignore the distinct color combination.

"Our baby's nursery will not be Iron Man themed. Put it. Back."

“Oh but _come on_.” Tony grinned, holding up the baby blanket printed with a caricaturized version of his Iron Man helmet so Pepper could see the whole thing. “Then the little squirt’s nursery will be cooler than every other baby’s nursery. Don’t you want our baby to feel good about itself?”

 

"Our child will feel good about his or her self without the help of Iron Man. He or she doesn't need to grow up in your shadow. That never ends well." Pepper replied. She began unloading the stocked cart, retuning crib liners and blankets and a lamp to their appropriate shelves. "Besides, babies need calm, like their parents. I don't want to go in to feed them at one in the morning and end up bombarded by all that. It's too loud and obnoxious."

 

“Are you _kidding_ me?” Tony said, still holding the blanket. “Our child will feel a hundred times _better_ about itself with the help of Iron Man. There’s only _one person_ in the _entire world_ who will be able to say he has Iron Man for a dad.”

 

“Or she.” Pepper frowned.

 

“Whatever.”

 

"What if we do have a son and he isn't into super heroes? What if he wants to take dance or play football like a normal child? Do you really think he'll feel comfortable doing that with the legacy of Iron Man hanging over his head? Iron Man will always be there as part of his life and rightly so. But he shouldn't have it forced on him." Pepper argued.

 

“If we have a son, he’s _going_ to be into super heroes. He’s going to grow up in a tower that’s a _base_ for a _super hero team_. If he’s not into super heroes after that, then he’s unappreciative of all the people who’re around him _raising him_.”

 

Pepper put her hands on her hips and glared at Tony. "Just because he'll probably like super heroes doesn't mean he has to be one or turn into a complete fanboy who dresses up and collects playing cards. You have to let him make his own choices Tony."

 

“Being parents is also about making some decisions for your child. If we let him make every decision ever by himself, then he’s going to end up dead within two years.” Tony challenged.

 

“We don’t let him make decisions when he’s an infant, Tony – ”

 

“Well he’s going to be an infant in this nursery.” Tony cut her off and held up the blanket again. “Which means we’re still entitled to decision-making.”

 

"What if it's a girl?' Pepper countered. "Those are Iron Man's colors. If you want to instill confidence and a love of superheroes you should choose colors characteristic of both male and female superheroes. And the only color I can think of that would fit that would be black. And our baby's nursery is not going to be done over in black."

 

“It’s not _my_ fault there aren’t any female super heroes with the red and gold color scheme.” Tony followed behind Pepper, still holding the blanket. “Wait, what about Hermione! She’s like a super hero in the magic world and stuff, right? And that whole griffy-door thing!”

 

"Hermione was not a super hero she was smart and put that to good use to save the world. No super powers, no fans, no attention seeking suit." she said, giving Tony a look that said how stupid she thought he was without her having to say it out-loud. "And it's Gryffindor."

 

“I didn’t read the books!” Tony defended, still holding the blanket. “It’s one blanket, give me a break.”

 

"One blanket." Pepper conceded. "But not the red sheets and curtains and yellow lamp. You can have the blanket and an Iron Man plushie if you like but the room will not be Iron Man themed."

 

Tony perked up like an excited dog. “There are Iron Man plushies? Nobody asked me, shouldn’t I have signed something for that? I patented the suit!”

 

"They're part of the Avengers collection. I signed all the forms so S.H.I.E.L.D. could use the name because they own the rights to the Avengers label. Half of all the proceeds go to charity though." Pepper explained with a small smile. Tony looked so cute when he got excited. "There are also action figures, costumes, bikes, water bottles, everything. But we aren't getting any of those."

 

“Wh- _Why not?_ ” Tony threw the blanket into the cart and cut her off, stepping in front of her in the aisle. “I didn’t know there were those things – _I_ want them!”

 

She rolled her eyes. "You can get yourself an action figure but it doesn't go anywhere near the baby until he or she is at least five years old. There are a lot of small parts on those things. It's too big a choking hazard."

 

And for then, it seemed like things were alright. They went back to talking and Tony was really excited and wanted to get action figures for _all_ the Avengers (Do you know if they have a Fury?)

 

But the good mood died when Tony saw Pepper putting a frill-covered and tasseled pillow in the cart. “Hey, come on.” He frowned, taking it back out. “This is _lavender_ and it looks like the entire Deco-Loli community threw up on it out of their vaginas. You said gender neutral. This is _not_ gender neutral.”

 

Pepper looked down at the pillow in confusion. It was a little more frilly than some of the others but she had thought it was sweet, not overly feminine.  
  
"Lavender is not a strictly feminine color. You have a lavender tie. And I like the decorations. It gives it some character." she argued, reaching to take it out of Tony's hands.

 

“Yeah, and ties are a masculine thing, so it negates the frilly color.” Tony said, holding it away so she couldn’t take it back. “But a pillow with frills and little fluffy tassles is not a masculine thing. This is a _girly pillow_ , Pepper. What if it’s a boy? You want to destroy his manhood by letting him cuddle with the David Bowie of pillows?” 

 

"I would hope our son would be confident enough in his masculinity to not be bother by a purple pillow." she snapped back. She made another grab for the pillow. "And what if our son likes frills and pastels? Will you return everything he buys because it's going to 'destroy his manhood'?"

 

“By the time he’s old enough to buy things by himself, he’ll be making his own decisions, at which point it’s none of my business what he buys or what he’s into. We just went over this ten minutes ago. At this point in the baby’s life, male or female they’re going to be expected to like super heroes, because if they don’t, they’re going to end up a damned super villain. But you can’t force your lavender frills on our little boy!”

 

"Tony at this point all our child is even going to register is what's right in front of them. A cute pillow isn't going to cripple his masculinity, if it even is a he. All the nursery needs to be is age appropriate and calm. This pillows fits that criteria." Pepper said angrily. "And what if we don't have a boy? What if we have a beautiful little girl who loves lavender and lace and frills? What then?"

 

“Then we can come back and buy this pillow.” Tony said, still holding it back out of her reach. “It’s easier to buy more than to return things, there’s none of that receipt or thirty-day crap to deal with.”

 

"And are you really going to want to make a second trip out here to get it? Let's just get it now! It's not like you can't afford to have one extra pillow around if it ends up not working in the room. I want the damn pillow Tony and I'm going to get it, whether you like it or not." Pepper yelled.

 

Suddenly Tony was grinning. Pepper seemed to get angrier and angrier the more he smiled, and then suddenly he was laughing.

 

“You’re so sexy when you’re angry.” He said.

 

Pepper blushed and glared at him. "You're an ass, you know that? I'm supposed to be mad at you. How do you expect me to stay angry when you say something like that?"

 

“It’s not even worth it.” Tony put the pillow back in the cart and stepped around it so he could take her around the waist – which was becoming increasingly difficult, the more her belly grew. “It’s a pillow, not what college the kid’s going to.”

 

"Harvard. Or Yale. I'm not too picky." Pepper laughed, draping her arms over Tony's shoulders. She smiled at him and leaned forward to press a slow, lingering kiss to his lips.

 

He dipped her down and began to playfully nibble at her neck, bringing a subdued yelp out of her, followed by a giggle. There was no one else in the aisle they were in, and Tony was a bit emboldened. His confidence seemed to be infectious. Pepper didn't even stop to think about the fact that they were in a public place before letting her hand trail down his chest before slipping around his waist and reaching down to playfully grab his ass.

 

They were pulled quite suddenly out of their playful groping however when the shrieking giggles of children passed by the aisle over, followed by their mother scolding them for being so loud.

Tony quickly stood Pepper upright just as the woman came into the aisle with her three young boys, all blonde and all chubby and all excited.

 

“I’m so sorry,” the woman apologized tiredly, holding one of her son’s hands, the other two chasing each other around Pepper and Tony’s cart. She took one look at Pepper and smiled fondly. “I hope you’re not having triplets too. It’s a nightmare.”

 

"Just the one, thank goodness." Pepper replied. "You must have the patience of a saint to deal with three, no matter how cute they are."

 

“Samuel, please stop – ” the woman began, but the little toddler spoke up before she could finish her sentence.

 

He was tugging on Tony’s pant leg and looked up at him with wide brown eyes. “Are you Iwon Man?” he asked, his words childish and slurred with a hard candy that was in his cheek.

 

Tony thought he might swoon from the cute, but kept his composure.

 

“As a matter of fact, I am.” He said, dropping down to a knee and looking the little boy right in the eye. His brother came up beside him with a look of awe, and the third boy let go of his mother’s hand to shyly hide behind his brothers.

 

“You’re a super hewo?” the second boy asked, the third still had his fist pressed to his mouth.

 

“No, I just have a costume,” Tony shook his head with a smile. “Your mom, she’s the real super hero. She has to deal with you three little monsters.” The two braver boys giggled, and the third smiled a little. “But you’re making it really hard for her to be a super hero by running all over the place. Do you think you could be her super hero sidekicks and help save the day by climbing into the cart?”

 

The mad scramble for the boys to climb into their mom’s cart came instantly, and he helped her lift two of the boys into the metal wiring.

 

“You are a Godsend.” She whispered to Tony thankfully as the boys all began tittering about what their sidekick super powers were. She gave him a tired, grateful smile before pushing the cart away.

 

"When did you get so sweet?" Pepper asked, pulling Tony back to her and giving him a quick peck on the lips. She could remember a time when Tony would have found the boys too entertaining to even consider lending a hand. She liked this new responsible, sweet Tony.   
  
“Oh my God Pepper I want to be a daddy. Hurry up, little baby,” He whined almost comically, both his hands coming to rest on her belly and he pressed his cheek against her neck. “But just the one please. Don’t grow any extras.”


	7. Moodswings

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter contains some NSFW material! You are warned!

Everything was going wrong. No matter what she did Pepper just could not catch a break. First she had woken up starving but couldn't find anything to eat, then there was the fiasco with her clothes during which Tony had been absolutely no help at all. Nothing had fit right and she'd eventually had to settle on a hideous maternity dress that made her feel even larger than she already did. On top of that her morning decaf had been terrible and when she had gotten a new cup some idiot bumped into her and made her spill in all over her new shoes.  
  
So all in all, not her day.  
  
The final straw had been when she returned to her office after lunch. She was already on the verge of tears because she had taken so long to decide what kind of sandwich to get and had wanted to come back to sit and eat in peace in her nice orderly office but apparently fate had other plans. When she opened the door she found the entire place in shambles with one of Tony's ridiculous cleaning robots right in the middle of the chaos.  
  
That was it.  
  
She slammed the door shut behind her and stormed over to her desk. Her sandwich was dropped unceremoniously on the polished wooden surface as she punched the number for Tony's personal extension.  
  
"Anthony Stark I want you in my office in two minutes. No complaints, no excuses." she said before he could even manage a hello, and hung up.

 

The hair on the back of Tony’s neck prickled, and he knew he was in trouble. “Ah, shit.” He cursed to himself, looking over at Dummy, who seemed to shrug. He momentarily weighted the pros and cons of hiding in his lab and avoiding Pepper or pretending he didn’t hear her. But if she was mad enough to call him Anthony, then something was wrong and avoiding it would only make it worse.

 

With a sigh, he got to his feet, shucked his safety goggles and welding gloves and headed up to her office, still smeared with grease and sweat and a little bit of blood. His shoes were filthy and left footprints on her pale brown carpet as he walked in with a disarming smile.

 

“Yes dear?”

 

Pepper sat down in her chair and leaned back, her face dangerously devoid of expression. She waved one arm carelessly around the room, indicating to the wide sweeping damage his bot had caused.  
  
"Tell me Stark, what do you see that's wrong here?" she asked.

 

“Looks like one of my mistakes got loose. Probably not my fault, Dummy thinks buttons are toys.” Tony said, still smiling. He knew he was in trouble, now she was calling him Stark. That was even worse than Anthony.

 

"Exactly!" She yelled. She slammed her hands down on her desk. "How many times have I told you that the only tech I want anywhere near the workplace either has to be stationary or JARVIS. No exceptions. If you can't keep a handle on your ridiculous toys in check then they're going to have to go! Do you have any idea how much damage that thing has caused? It's going to take me hours to go through everything and find out what needs to be replaced and then actually get it all done. Tell me Stark, do you have any actual respect for what I do and what this company is or is it all just one big game to you?"

 

Tony sighed now. He knew this part. Pepper accused him of not giving a shit about anything, and no matter how he defended himself, she wouldn’t hear it. They’d done this dance before, and he was always the one who ended up on his ass because she wouldn’t listen.

 

And now was worse than ever, because she was probably hormonal on top of it. She might actually scratch his eyes out if he tried to argue. It didn’t matter if it was an honest accident, it didn’t matter if he offered to have other people go through her office and fix everything up because then she wouldn’t be a martyr for her cause. It didn’t matter if he apologized.

 

He hated giving in, but even he had a sense of self-preservation. And so did his balls.

 

“It’s a game.” He deadpanned. “And I’m an asshole, and I’ll clean your office for you.”

 

"Oh stop with the kicked puppy look. If you think I'm being unreasonable just say it. Don't be such a coward." Pepper snapped. She honestly didn't know why she was saying these things at this point. She knew she was hurting Tony and she hated that. But she was just so angry and seeing him looking so defeated only made her angrier.

 

He would have loved to snap back at her. There was no winning here. If he fought back she’d be angry, and if he showed her his belly that made her angry too.

 

He shook his head slowly with a sigh. “You’re not being unreasonable.” He said, and he didn’t entirely believe it. She was raging, but she had hormones and a halfway decent reason, but screaming at Tony was something he never enjoyed. “I’m not a coward, I just agree. I’ll clean your office.”

 

"Don't do that!" She said, suddenly on the verge of tears. Here was Tony being so sweet and understanding while she was acting like a raving lunatic and it wasn't fair. He was supposed to be a jerk, that way she wouldn't feel so bad.  
  
"God I'm such a bitch." She said angrily.

 

Tony was glad she was looking down at her desk so she didn’t see him roll his eyes. What the _hell_ was he supposed to do now?

 

“You’re not a bitch.” He said, he wasn’t sure if he was saying the right thing or not. It seemed like defending her and agreeing with her made her made, and disagreeing would surely only make it worse.

 

"Yes I am!" She said, head snapping up to glare at him. "I am and I'm treating you like crap! You can't let me do that Tony, you can't keep letting me act like some psychopath who's going to bite your head off at any second!"

 

“Okay, you’re a bitch!” Tony threw up his hands in defense. “Sorry!”

 

Pepper's eyes started to water and she covered her face with her hands. She knew she had just told Tony not to cover up for her but it still hurt to hear him say something like that.

 

Tony groaned weakly, feeling incredibly lost in the situation. He moved forward cautiously, his dirty boots crunching on broken glass that he made a mental note to vacuum extra well later, and he put his hands on her shaking shoulders.

 

“You’re not a bitch, I didn’t mean that.” He said. He really didn’t want her to cry. “But I don’t know what you want me to say.”

 

"I don't know either." She sobbed, leaning in closer to him. "God I'm such a mess right now. I'm sorry."

 

He lifted her chin and looked her in the face. Her cheeks were wet and flushed, her hair was messy and her makeup was smearing down her face, but she looked so beautiful he could just cry.

 

He grabbed his sleeve with his fingers and wiped it over her face, smearing her makeup into something like war paint, and he cracked a grin.

 

“I don’t know, I think you’re pretty hot right now.”

 

In that instant all Pepper's anger melted away, leaving her inexplicably hot. Not stopping to over think it she suddenly surged forward and pressed her lips to his, pulling him close against her body and holding him there.

 

Tony thought he tasted blood with the force her lips crashed into his, and he couldn’t keep a sound of surprise from leaving him as she fisted his shirt. He couldn’t get very close to her considering her sizeable tummy, which was pressing directly against his.

 

He couldn’t even begin to comprehend her mood swings, but this was _way_ better than her raging. There was absolutely no reason to argue. He put his large hands on her waist, not really caring that he was getting grease on it from his dirty fingers. She’d probably revel in the excuse to throw it away. It _was_ a rather un-flattering shade of yellow.

 

Pepper moaned against Tony's mouth. For whatever reason this seemed to be exactly what she needed and she wasn't going to lie, it felt good. She liked the way his large strong hands felt on her and she wanted more.  
  
Carefully she shifted back to sit on her desk, using her grip on his shirt to pull him along without needing to break their kiss.

 

He lifted her thighs to wrap around his waist, her dress hiking up past the white cotton panties she was wearing. They were simple, but there was something incredibly sexy and executive about them. He was already grinding against her, having some difficulty with her burgeoning baby bump.

 

His fingers were spread across the back of her neck, holding her close, fully prepared to devour her entirely. If mood swings like this were common with pregnancy, they might end up having more than one kid.

 

"Tony," Pepper panted, breaking away. She didn't want to stop but it had suddenly dawned on her how they would look if someone walked in. "Tony, lock the door."

 

“Jarvis, lock the door.” Tony relayed, completely unwilling to break contact, his hands holding her hips.

 

“Already done, sir.”

 

“I love that bot.” Tony grinned, moving in to kiss her neck. 

 

Pepper grinned and eagerly wrapped her arms around Tony, offering her encouragement.  
  
The following forty five minutes dissolved into a flurry of movement and touch that left the office in even greater disarray than before. It was hot and sweaty and fast involving teeth and hands and glorious expanses of bare flesh to be worshipped and marked. It was rough, animalistic and desperate and when they were done Pepper couldn't remember another time when she'd been so thankful for her office being soundproof.  
  
"That was incredible." She sighed happily, sitting back up on her desk and reaching for her discarded undergarments.

 

Tony was still lying across her desk, dark red handprints spanning his hips from where she’d gripped him so tightly and rode him like a show pony.

 

He was looking pretty dazed, and his mouth felt like it was full of cotton. He would have helped her get dressed if he thought he could function his fingers.

 

“Christ, you don’t think the baby’s been poked in the head a thousand times, do you?” he asked, only half joking.

 

Pepper laughed and leaned down to press a swift kiss to his exposed stomach, just to make him squirm.  
  
"Sex is perfectly safe Tony. And sudden irrational horniness is pretty common during pregnancy." She said. "So this might happen again. Like tonight, after dinner."

 

Tony cracked another grin, his nose wrinkling in delight as he was suddenly given the energy to get up and started to get dressed. “But seriously, I’ll clean your office if you want.”

 

"That would be lovely." Pepper said, placing a gentle hand on his cheek. "And while you do that I am going to take a shower."  
  
With that she smiled at him and sauntered out of the office.

 

Tony hated cleaning, but damn it was worth it.


	8. Birthing Class

"Tony!" Pepper called, wandering into the living room. They should have left five minutes ago but Tony was nowhere to be found. If he was drunk she'd kill him. But he wasn't on the couch or at the bar so she moved on to their bedroom. With any luck he'd be getting dressed. Or had at least started to and gotten distracted. That happened sometimes and she tried not to be too harsh on him for it. He had a hyperactive brain and when an idea popped up he had to hurry to get it down before he lost it. Admittedly most of his ideas weren't terrible though there were some she had forced him to scrap. Like the time he had thought he had figured out how to build the transporter beams from Star Trek.  
  
She was starting to get a bad feeling. He wasn't in the kitchen, or the garage, or the living room or their bedroom. That meant he was either in the gym with the other Avengers which was unlikely or he was in the lab, knee deep in some dirt and grease and sweat inducing experiment that would only make them later than they already were.  
  
She was going to kill him.

 

She moved into the gym, and he wasn’t there. Steve said he hadn’t seen him all day, though that wasn’t much different than other days. She then made her way to his lab, ready to bite his head off. He _knew_ they had this thing together today.

 

But as she came down the stairs, she could already tell through the plate glass that the laboratory was dormant, and he wasn’t inside. There was no blaring music, no sparks flying, no exhaust, and absolutely no Tony.

 

She moved on to Bruce's lab, thinking maybe they were working on a project together but no such luck. The other scientist wasn't even in. Now she was really starting to get annoyed. She had told him they were on a tight schedule. She had told him this was important. She had thought he had understood not to do this to her today.  
  
"Jarvis? Where's Tony?" she asked, finally giving up on finding him herself and requesting backup.

 

Jarvis was silent for a moment, and then,

 

“…Mr. Stark has informed me he doesn’t want me to give you his location.”

 

"Then tell him I'm going to take Steve to birthing class and he can be in the room with me when I'm in labor." Pepper growled through clenched teeth.

 

Another short silence.

 

“He’s in the bedroom getting dressed.”

 

"He has two minutes. I'll be waiting in the car." she huffed and stormed over to the elevator. Really, she couldn't understand Tony sometimes. He said he wanted to be there for her and help her in any way he could and usually he was great. But when it came to birthing class he decided to duck out?

 

Up in the room, Tony’s fingers were shaking as he tried to fasten a belt through the loops of his jeans. He gave up for a moment and rest his elbows on the top of his dresser, running his hands through his hair and giving and exaggerated sigh.

 

He was scared. Terrified. This was coming to a head a lot faster than he thought it would. Nine months of any other year passed like molasses, his brain was always moving so quick that everything was slow-motion in comparison.

 

But not this. Eight months already, that couldn’t be right. They had to have missed a month in there somewhere accidentally. Or six.

 

He looked at himself in the mirror, and he was looking more ragged than ever. Pepper told him a few weeks ago that she signed the two of them up for this birthing class together, and he didn’t know what it was. A little bit of research and he found out that it’s exactly the sort of thing he usually actively avoids.

 

Couple stuff. Really, really emotionally intimate couple stuff. Eye contact for long periods of time, breathing together, visualizing the baby, talking things out publicly for everyone in the room to hear.

 

He was terrified. He wanted to be there for Pepper, but his knees could barely support him as he walked to the car and ducked into the seat beside her, clearly avoiding eye contact.

 

Pepper sighed. She knew that look. That was Tony's getting-scared-shutting-you-out look that she had nightmares about. That was the look he got when things were getting to serious and he was getting ready to bolt. She had seen that look too many times, just never at her.  
  
"What's wrong?" she asked gently. She wanted to reach out and take his hand but at this point she knew that touching him would only make things worse. If he was starting to feel trapped and was panicking making things physical would only push him away faster.

 

“Mh.”

 

He was looking intently out the window, his hand covering his mouth, trying to fight the urge to flee.

 

Pepper sighed and looked down at her lap, one hand resting on her prominent belly. She could feel their baby shifting and moving inside her and for once it didn't make her feel any better. "You can stay if you want Tony. I can do this by myself."

 

“Mh.” He said again. But then he continued, “That’s not fair. I can’t sit idly and you… mh.”

 

He still wouldn’t look at her, and she could see his leg bouncing like he does when he’s really nervous and antsy.

 

"If you don't want to be here that's okay." she said quietly. It's hard but she won't do this to him. She never wanted to make him feel trapped or obligated in some way. That was never her intention. "It's alright. If you don't want this that's fine."

 

“Just _shut up_.” He snapped suddenly, the hand that wasn’t hiding his face clenched his pant leg tightly, his knuckles turning bright white. She could see the goosebumps on his arms where the black sleeves had been pushed up to his elbows, and she knew they weren’t from cold – it was far too temperate in the back of the car.

 

As if sensing the mood, Happy rolled up the tinted window sectioning off the front and the back of the car.

 

Pepper didn't say anything. She just shifted a little farther away from him in the car. She didn't doubt that Tony wanted a baby and wanted to be a father. He had been nothing but pleased by the news. But maybe he was rethinking the whole family dynamic. Just because he wanted a child didn't mean he wanted the whole package.

 

He lifted his other hand to cover his face and started to breathe deeply and slowly in that way people do when they’re trying not to cry.

 

“I’m sorry.” He said, his words muffled, “I’m sorry, I’m just… I’m sorry.”

 

"It's fine." she replied a little too stiffly. Her gaze was firmly focused out the window now too, watching the streets and people pass by. There wasn't really anything she wanted to see but it was a lot easier than looking at him.

 

“I’m just… not ready for this.” Tony muttered, still not looking in her direction. “It’s happening way faster than it’s supposed to. Way faster than I wanted it to.”

 

That hurt but Pepper covered it up well. She had been steeling herself up for this from day one but lately she had been letting her attention slip. Tony had been so good to her and had seemed so ready for the baby that she had thought maybe she didn't need to be scared.   
  
"We can't go back." she said. "And I'm not giving this up. I've fallen in love with this baby Tony and I'm not walking away."

 

“I’m not asking to go back.” Tony sounded insulted, and he was fisting his jeans again, still looking out the window. “I’m just… scared.”

 

Pepper took a deep breath and turned to him. "Let's just get through today, alright? We'll go in, do the class, and then after we can talk about what you're scared of and where you want to go from here, okay?"

 

“Mh.”

 

He was back to monosyllables. His leg was still shaking, and his knuckles were white, and he looked like he was about to internally combust, he was so visibly uncomfortable.

 

The car eventually rolled up to the hospital and Pepper led the way inside. All the other couples were already there. Always one to keep up appearances Pepper forced a smile and made her way over to an open beanbag chair beside a nice looking lesbian couple.

 

“Good afternoon!” the teacher greeted, perhaps a little too cheerfully. She had a round face and big blue eyes and curly blonde hair and looked far too young to be teaching a class about childbirth.

 

Tony took a moment to survey the room. He had to know what he was up against. Everything was a competition.

 

His attention was immediately drawn to the pair of women beside him that Pepper was already chatting away with. A pretty young black lady with her pregnant girlfriend. No, wife. Rings.

 

From there, he made his way around the room silently with his eyes. There was a couple  beside the women, a very small woman (she obviously had dwarfism) and her average-sized husband. She had a very large belly and it looked like it would be uncomfortable, but she was glowing.

 

Next to them was a very, very, _very_ large black man – he made Nick Fury look like a licorice jelly bean – and a petit pregnant Caucasian girl.

 

An older man with a shiny bald head and his downs syndrome wife, with curly red hair and looking very pleased with herself.

 

A young man wearing far too much eyeliner to be considered a real man and his girlfriend (no rings) who was so fat it was impossible to tell if she really was pregnant.

 

A white man with perfectly coiffed blonde hair and his white, perfect blonde wife, wearing a perfect little sun dress and they looked so _perfect_ Tony wanted to punch them both right in their face.

 

And last, to the other side of him and Pepper, an Asian couple who both looked very happy and very nervous, and their hands seemed fused together, they were holding on so tightly to one another.

 

And of course, himself. He had to take inventory of himself. An older salt-and-peppering man with his very young, thin, ginger and very pregnant girlfriend. Her legs were folded modestly beside her on the beanbag chair and her belly was in her lap, and she was wearing a lace-covered lavender dress under a white shrug that made her look radiant. She was glowing too, he could see, and he didn’t know why he didn’t notice it before.

 

Her hair was drawn over her shoulder and her angular features had been softened a little bit with a fifteen-pound weight gain due to the baby, and her feet were covered by pretty little white stockings and plain black slip-on flats. She looked every inch of an expecting mother, and she was so beautiful he wanted to cry.

 

He quickly diverted his eyes before she had the chance to look away from the women beside her and see the look on his face.

 

"Alright class," the over-enthusiastic instructor said with a small clap of her hands. "Before we get started I want everyone to introduce themselves. Mothers then partners alright? You can tell us a bit about yourselves if you want but don't feel pressured. I want everyone to be relaxed and comfortable here."

 

No one seemed to want to go first, but Tony could see them all staring at the two of them. With a laugh he sat up a little straighter.

 

“Okay, we’ll break the ice.” He said, crossing his legs in front of him on the mat beside Pepper’s bean bag chair. He thought it was a little cheesy that they were all hippie-style on the floor, but he wasn’t about to start criticizing the teacher.

 

“Pepper Potts.” Pepper smiled modestly.

 

“I think you mean Pepper Potts, _CEO of Stark Industries_ ,” Tony snorted. “And I’m Tony Stark, also, crazy enough, of Stark Industries. The big building out in the middle of the city, a few blocks away from the Empire State building. You all know the one.” He paused as smiles crack across the faces of the other couples.

 

“You’re the real Iron Man?” the red-headed woman asked, and her words were a little slurred but Tony thought it was kind of cute.

 

“As opposed to the fake Iron Man? Yes.”

 

"What I love about him is how modest he is." Pepper added sarcastically but with a smile. "But he's covered everything relevant. Anything else you can find online or in a magazine."

 

The women beside them seemed braver now, and Tony willingly passed the torch.

 

“I’m Cassandra.” The pregnant woman said with a smile. “And I got a donation from my sister’s best gay friend.”

 

“And I’m Antonia.” The black woman said, and she had a thick Spanish accent. She gave her wife’s hands a squeeze. “We’re both photographers.”

 

Tony thought they were okay. The black woman had sex appeal oozing out her pores, but it was clear she was devoted to Cassandra.

 

Moving on, the dwarfed woman gave a wide smile. “I’m Charlotte.” She said. “And this is my husband.”

 

“Carl.” The man said, clearly sheepish. He really didn’t want to say anything else, so it moved on from there.

 

Tony had to force himself not to snort. What a weird couple. He was doing better than them, for sure.

 

“I’m Robin.” The tiny white girl said from her place in the giant black man’s lap on the beanbag chair. She had a slight French accent. “And I’m on my way through college.”

 

“I’m Joseph.” The giant man said, and his voice was so deep it could be mistaken for the bass rift of a song. “I’m house director for a house in the school Robin attends.”

 

Tony was pretty sure that was illegal, but he said nothing.

 

“I’m Susie.” The downs syndrome woman said gleefully, cradling her belly.

 

“And Dave.” Her husband said with a proud sort of smile. “I’m an accountant, and she’s a librarian.”

 

 _How boring,_ Tony thought. _I’m so much more interesting._

 

“I’m Sasha.” The very fat woman said, and Tony wondered if her ass had eaten the beanbag chair she was sitting on.

 

“And I’m her boyfriend Timber.” The very thin scene young man said, his eyes downcast and his hand on her knee. “We’re both seniors in high school.”

 

Tony quickly looked to the side to keep from gawking blatantly.

 

“My name is London, and I’m really excited to be here.” The perfect blonde lady said, her perfect Chiclets-teeth shining between her perfect pink lips. She batted her perfect eyelashes, thick with mascara, applied perfectly. Tony wondered if her white-meat ass ever even left America, let alone had any association with the city of London.

 

“And I’m her husband James.” The perfect blonde man said, his arm around her shoulders. Tony still wanted to punch him. He was like Steve, without the likability that Tony insisted he didn’t really have.

 

“Hello, I am Sakura.” The young Asian woman said, a thick accent lacing her words. “I am painter.”

 

“I am Sakura’s husband Daisuke, hello,” the man said, and their hands were still fused together.

 

Tony thought they looked like they jumped out of some girly anime. She had perfect straight bangs and long hair and a cute little face and she was wearing this frilly little pink dress, and he had on a button up and slacks and brightly colored socks and glasses that looked so characteristic of an Asian man that Tony wondered if there wasn’t truth behind that stereotype.

 

He didn’t catch himself comparing himself to everyone until he’d made his way entirely around the circle.

 

Pepper had been watching Tony, knowing almost exactly what was going through his head. He was rating himself and using the others as benchmarks. She couldn't tell what his exact results were but she prayed they were favorable. It would make all of this a lot easier if he felt like he was as good and as ready as the other 'fathers' in the room.

 

With everyone introduced, the instructor slipped seamlessly into a very in-depth description – pictures and all – of childbirth. In detail, she described the thinning and opening of the cervix, the three stages of labor, and delivery. The couples all seemed a little paled, except for Charlotte, who seemed more excited than ever.

 

Then she went over pain management techniques, like epidurals, analgesics and narcotics, and the pros and cons of each. Tony was taking mental notes like a madperson, wondering if an epidural was a good idea. He would have to ask Pepper what she thought.

 

And then came the worst part, she talked to them about the most common birth complications. Umbilical cord wrapping, heavy uterus bleeding, and c-sections both emergency and by choice. Pepper could see that he looks scared here, but she couldn’t just ask him about it right out. 

 

After all the lecturing was out of the way, the instructor called for a bathroom break, and the women all waddled off to alleviate their pressurized bladders, leaving all the men in the room alone.

 

"So you're really Tony Stark?" Joseph asked, approaching Tony with the rest of the guys. "Like the real deal? You're not messing with us?"

 

Tony tapped on the reactor in his chest, which hadn’t been so apparent with the angle he was sitting at before, and the brightness of the room. “In the flesh.” He said confidently. This part he knew, he knew how to schmooze and be a general badass. He knew how to impress people. Here, he was comfortable.

 

"Your girl's hot." Joseph said. A few of the other guys might have nodded in agreement but it was hard to tell with them all staring at Tony in awe. "I've seen her on magazines but she's a lot prettier in person. But I guess you would have a beautiful woman, wouldn't you?"

 

Tony knew this part, too. Lions comparing gazelles. He knew he had the best, and damn did it feel good to know that the others thought so too. His trademark smirk crossed his lips, and he wasn’t the least bit intimidated by Joseph’s size anymore.

 

“Damn right I would.” He said, “But it’s nothing like a student-staff relationship, that’s hard to pull off outside cheesy pornos.” 

 

Joseph laughed. "It's not really like that. Not for me anyway. She's my buddy's girl but he's in the army and is off getting himself shot at somewhere so I'm filling in for him. But he was a TA in one of her classes so it's not much better."

 

Tony laughs, imagining the tiny French girl doodling the name of her professor in her notebook. “So you don’t have a girl of your own then?” he asked, not sure when he started caring.

 

"Nah. Got a nice boyfriend though." he said and Antonia gave him a quick grin. "Not thinking kids yet. Nobody thought you were either. What made you decide to have a little Iron Man?"

 

“It was an accident, actually.” Tony snorted. “We’re not sure if it’s a boy, we’re waiting to be surprised.”

 

“Susie and I are too,” Dave suddenly spoke up with a smile. “But she’s really sure it’s a girl. She just kind of knows things sometimes.”

 

"London and I are having twin boys." James said proudly, flashing them an overly toothy smile. "Exactly when we wanted to, too. We just got a new house and I've recently gotten a raise. It's perfect. Not that there's anything wrong with a little office romance." he added the last sentence with a knowing wink directed at Tony.

 

Tony laughed again, and he could tell that they’re one martini glass away from this being the sort of interaction he had with all those greasy assholes in the corporate world.

 

“Sasha and I are having a girl,” Timber spoke up, “If anyone cares.”

 

“I care,” Daisuke said brightly, and Tony laughed out loud, because it was clear the poor man didn’t understand ‘scene’ even a little bit.

 

"Cassandra and I are just glad we're having a kid at all." Antonia interjected. "We've been trying for a while but had trouble with donors and things. At this point gender doesn't really seem like an issue as long as they both come out of it okay."

 

Tony knew that feeling all too well. The fear of losing Pepper had been weighing on him for months now, and the nightmares were unceasing.

 

He found himself wondering what Pepper was doing most of the time, wondering if she was safe. Even now, even thought he knew she was taking a potty break in a damned _hospital_ , he was still worried. He doubted he would stop being worried until the baby was born and everything was okay.

 

===

 

"So are you ladies as excited as I am?" London asked after she had finished washing her hands.  
  
Pepper rolled her eyes. This woman was way too chipper for being this far into her pregnancy. Like way too chipper. As if she had been sleeping and eating and not having to deal with an emotionally stunted playboy for a partner. Which, admittedly she probably didn't but that wasn't any excuse for being so cheerful.  
  
"About class? Not so much." Pepper said, moving past her to the paper towels.

 

“No, silly, about having a baby!” London squealed. “I’m having _twins_ , what about you girls?”

 

“A boy,” Charlotte smiled, accepting a paper towel from Pepper graciously so she didn’t have to stretch her tiny pregnant self up to reach it. “Funny enough, the ultrasounds say he’s going to be completely normal, which is strange to think about. He’s going to be taller than me by the time he’s ten.”

 

“Girl.” Susie grinned, wiping her hands on her long yellow dress. “I’m sure of it.”

 

“I’m having a girl, too,” Robin said as she straightened her hair in the mirror, standing on her tippy-toes so her belly rested comfortably on the edge of the sink counter.

 

“Antonia and I don’t know yet,” Cassandra looked down at her belly fondly, and it’s clearly the only thing that ever mattered to her so much in her entire life.

 

“I’m having a girl like you two,” Sasha said, but it still wasn’t very clear that she was pregnant at all, as every single part of her jiggled with every step she took.

 

“Boy.” Sakura said simply as she adjusted the bow on the front of her pink dress to rest straight across her belly.

 

"Status unknown. Tony is desperate for a boy and I would really like a girl." Pepper said, adjusting her hair in the only free mirror.  
  
"Well Tony Stark always gets his way in the end." London laughed. "I don't see why that would stop now. Though a little red-headed girl like you would be so cute."

 

“Girls are more fun to dress.” Sasha said with a little smile.

 

“I don’t know, little overalls and sneakers for boys are pretty darn cute,” London argued playfully. “So Pepper, how did you convince New York’s biggest playboy to settle down and be a daddy?”

 

Pepper laughed. Being a daddy and settling down were two very different things for Tony. He had been willing to stop the whole playboy thing but she doubted he would ever be the typical down-to-Earth caregiver London was imagining.  
  
"I didn't really convince him." Pepper admitted. "It was an accident and I thought it was going to be a disaster. But Tony has a way of surprising people."

 

London made a small face, and seemed to judge her for just a moment. “It was an accident? You mean you two don’t have safe sex?”

 

“If they’re in a monogamous relationship, why should they?” Susie suddenly said, her hands on her hips. “They’ll know whether or not the other is diseased.”

 

Pepper glared at London, hands on her hips. She was the CEO of Stark Industries, girlfriend of Iron Man and unofficial SHIELD liason. She wasn't about to let some prissy housewife start giving her a hard time.  
  
"There's always a risk, even if you're having safe sex. Accidents happen and Tony and I couldn't be happier about it."

 

“Plus, that’s not really any of your business, London.” Charlotte said as Sakura left the bathroom, avoiding the thick aura that had started to form between the two women.

 

“I’m just saying, if he’s so careless that he won’t wear a condom, he might not be the best dad material.” London said with a forced sort of smile. “Besides, you two aren’t even married, right? I heard that on the news.”

 

"Maybe I'm the one who doesn't want to use condoms." Pepper said. It wasn't really a lie. Early on in their relationship she and Tony had decided together that they didn't want to bother with condoms. She knew he was clean and was on the best birth control money could buy. Using condoms, which they both disliked, seemed pointless. "And I don't need a ring to validate my relationship." she added haughtily.

 

“It’s not about validating _your_ relationship.” London sighed importantly. “It’s not about _you_ , it’s about the _baby_. You really want a bastard? You want him or her to grow up with that label? That’s not very fair to your child.”

 

Pepper rolled her eyes. "The only time I've heard anyone use that term in the last decade was to try to guilt parents. Besides, this is the child of Tony Stark, everyone is going to be too be too busy trying to be his best friend to care if his parents are married."

 

London clicked her tongue. “You say that now, but wait until his peers start calling him a bastard.” And she left the bathroom.

 

There was a tense silence in the bathroom, and Cassandra quickly broke it with, “Hey, don’t listen to her. You’re the one pregnant with _Tony Stark’s_ baby. I’d go _straight_ for that man.”

 

Pepper laughed and barely kept herself from reaching out and hugging the other woman. "Oddly that's not the first time I've heard that. And I can name at least three men who have told me something similar." 

 

“She’s probably just jealous.” Charlotte said with a smile. “I know, because _I’m_ jealous. I love my Carl, but I would get in Tony Stark’s pants in a heartbeat.”

 

“Agreed.” Susie snorted.

 

Pepper's smile turned a little brittle. She was used to competition but right now, with Tony on the verge of running, she didn't want to think about how easy it would be to lose him or how many women would gladly take him if he left.  
  
"Sorry girls, you're just going to have to do without." she joked. "Trust me though, it's not always as amazing as it looks."

 

“Somehow I doubt that.” Sasha laughed as the women all left the bathroom and came back into the room. London was already all over James cooing, and she made sure to position their hands together _just so_ , so that both their rings were very visible.

 

Tony instantly snapped to attention as soon as he caught sight of Pepper and he swooped down on her like an eager puppy, hands on her waist and looking her over, making sure all his worries while she’d been gone had really just been him psyching himself out.

 

She smiled and gave him a kiss on the cheek, feeling the eyes of their classmates on them.   
  
"You boys have a nice chat while we were gone?" she asked.

 

Before he could answer, the instructor was back in teacher-mode and had everyone circling up with an exercise ball each. She had the women practice swiveling their pelvises and sliding up and down, and then the part came where they had to make eye contact.

 

They both knew how serious and emotional this was supposed to be, but Tony and Pepper both had a really hard time keeping a straight face as they stared at each other for a full minute.

 

“Did you feel anything while you were looking at each other?” the instructor asked after she told the couples they could look away.

 

“Connected,” London said confidently.

 

“A little bit uncomfortable,” Sasha laughed.

 

“Pepper has a freckle on her eyelid that I never noticed before,” Tony said, still looking at it.

 

"Now I'm feeling the need for more concealer." Pepper said. She knew she had a lot of freckles, it was part of being so fair skinned, but she always took the time to cover them up and smooth out her complexion in the mornings. It sometimes meant wearing more makeup than she would like, especially during the summer, but she hated how young and naive they made her look.

 

Laughter tittered through the room as they continued on, practicing breathing and holding hands and more gyrating on the balls.

 

And then, close to the end of the class, the instructor had them all sit back on the beanbag chairs and mats.

 

“I’m really glad you all showed up,” the instructor said cheerfully. “But before we go, there’s one more thing we have to do. We’re all going to go around one at a time and share what scares us most about upcoming parenthood. If there’s honestly nothing then you can say pass, but I challenge you to really think hard about it and share. You’ll find out you’re not the only one having fears.”

 

Tony blanched and immediately looked at the floor.

 

They went around the room, most people saying things like being afraid their child wouldn't be healthy or that they would make some tragic mistake. London and James obviously had no such qualms and happily passed on their turn. Eventually the question landed on Tony and Pepper who sat in silence.  
  
"I guess..." Pepper said quietly. "I'm scared I won't be good enough. That he or she is going to want someone better."

 

All eyes were on Tony now, and he looked like he wanted to sink right into the floor. The worst of all was Pepper. The others were strangers, he didn’t care. But Pepper… he had to go home with her. Live with her, and raise the child that he’s so scared of with her.

 

“What are you afraid of, Tony?” the instructor asked.

 

“I’m afraid to lose.” Tony murmured softly, his mouth suddenly felt dry.

 

“Lose what?”

 

“Her. The baby. Parenthood. I’m… afraid I’m going to lose it. I’m afraid I will take it for granted, and the universe has this really fucked up way of taking the things from you that you want the most, but are too afraid to say out loud.”

 

His Arc Reactor suddenly felt colder and heavier in his chest, he felt it vibrating a little bit faster, and he knew it was making itself known.

 

Pepper reached out and quietly wrapped her hand around Tony's. She could almost feel the waves of panic and hurt radiating off him. She realized that Tony wasn't so much afraid of settling down with her and giving up the freedom he had had before.

 

He was afraid that settling down would mean he had something to lose.  
  
The class ended shortly after and the two of them walked in silence down to the waiting car. Once they were inside and Happy had raised the privacy screen Pepper took Tony's hand again.  
  
"We need to talk."

 

“More talking? I’m kind of talked out.” Tony didn’t pull away, but she could feel his hand trembling like he did when he was coming out of a really bad drunken fit. He didn’t look at her, and his eyes were focused straight ahead instead of looking in her direction.

 

"I know but you're scared and that's got me terrified that at any minute you're going to bolt." Pepper admitted. "I would rather talk this all out now, uncomfortable as it may be, than have to worry about losing you."

 

Tony was quiet for a long time, his hand still shaking under her touch. His adams apple bobbed a few times with the force of his swallows and he scrunched up his face a couple times like he was angry, or he smelled something foul.

 

“ _The more you love something, the more it hurts when you lose it,_ ” his voice was a hoarse whisper.

 

"You're not going to lose me Tony. Or this baby. Not unless you push us away." Pepper said kindly. Seeing Tony like this broke her heart and she wanted to do all she could to soothe him but she couldn't bring herself to lie. "There's a chance something will go wrong but its slim. I'm a strong healthy woman and we've done everything right so far. The odds are in out favor and the chances of you losing either of us is low." She told him, hoping that this would get through to him somehow.

 

Tony shook his head, his eyes closed tight. Every little wrinkle and ridge of his face was deeper, every line sharper, and he looked almost as old and worn down as he felt.

 

“I’ve been having nightmares.” He murmured. “Four months straight, and counting, every night without fail. It’s always the same. Everything’s going well, and we’re on our way to becoming parents… and then something goes wrong and you… you just… you just start _bleeding_ ,” his voice was thick now, and she could see tears collecting on his lashes. “And you won’t stop, and they shove me out of the room because it’s not stopping,” his shoulders were shaking, and his breath was coming in uneven. “And they come out and they tell me that you didn’t make it… and neither did the baby. You both died because of sudden complications, and I’m powerless to stop it.”

 

He was crying now, tears running down his cheeks in steady streams as he still refused to look in her direction.

 

“ _I’m so scared, Pep_.”  

 

Pepper felt her eyes fill with tears and gently pulled Tony against her as best she could. She pressed his head to her chest right above her heart and took the hand she was holding and placed it on her belly.  
  
"Tony do you feel that? You feel our baby kicking?" she asked. "He's alive and well and so am I. There have been no signs of anything wrong. If there was JARVIS would have picked it up during one of his many scans. We can't be one hundred percent sure that everything will be fine and yes, it's going to hurt and its not going to be very pretty but it'll be worth it. Because chances are when the danger has passed there's going to be three of us and we're going to be happy and healthy and together. That's what you need to focus on, not what could go wrong."

 

Tony listened to her heartbeat for a few seconds, finding solace in its steady thumping.

 

“You don’t understand.” He shook his head again, his hair mussing against her chest. “It’s not just that. This is going to go public, Pep, there’s no way around that. The whole world is going to know that you had my baby, they’re going to know about my family. Which means that every _villain_ is going to know that as well. And villains are cowardly manipulators that will _always_ go for the weaknesses of the heroes first. You will always be a target. This baby… you are both in danger just by being associated with me.”

 

"We have JARVIS, The Avengers, SHIELD and you to protect us." Pepper replied solemnly. She had considered this before, many many times over the last few years, and had long ago decided that it was worth the risk. "We'll worry, sure, but I've always known you wouldn't let anyone hurt me. And I know you'll fight twice as hard to protect our baby."

 

“I want you to have a suit.” Tony said, so suddenly and so firmly it was abundantly clear that he’d been thinking about it for a very long time. He sat up, his tears dried on his cheeks, but too proud to wipe them away. “I’m going to build you a suit. Not to use all the time, just for emergencies, and I want you to know how to use it.”

 

Pepper nodded. She didn't have any objections to having a suit of her own and she knew Tony wouldn't back down even if she did. "You're going to have to wait a little while though. My measurements are going to be changing pretty significantly."

 

Tony laughed weakly, both his hands on her belly now, so he could feel the little life inspecting the pressure on its habitat.

 

“Yeah, I know.” Tony murmured, his eyes firmly focused on his hands as he spread his fingers and closed them again. “I wouldn’t recommend flying around with a baby bump anyway. But I can start building it.”

 

"Start with the helmet." Pepper said with a smile. She reached up and started stroking Tony's hair. "That's where the changes will be least evident. And I do _not_ want red and gold."

 

“Red and silver?” he offered, finally looking up into her face as she started to wipe away the sticky tears from his cheeks. 

 

"I'll think about it. Feeling better now?" she asked.

 

“No.” Tony said, unwilling to lie. “But distracted. Distracted is good. Oh my God, you can be Iron Maiden!”

 

"Absolutely not. Not on your life. I'll come up with my own superhero name, thank you very much. And it will have nothing to do with yours." Pepper laughed. "Not after the telling off I gave Little Miss Perfect during the break."

 

The conversation shifted from there, and the more they talked about other things, the more Tony forgot about his fears. Somewhere in the back of his mind he knew they would come back that night, and maybe this time, for the first time in months, he would wake her up so she could hold him.


	9. Welcome to the World, Baby

Tony wasn’t a fan of press conferences at the best of times, but this certainly wasn’t ideal. Between himself and Pepper’s clever planning, they’d been avoiding this particular conference since the news came out that Pepper was pregnant.

 

With his suit on and uncomfortable as ever, Tony had no choice but to face the oncoming slaughter. Pepper straightened his tie in the hall and he gave a heavy sigh.

 

“Now the best we can hope for is sudden catastrophe across the city, and Iron Man has to take off to save the day.” He said optimistically.

 

At this point Pepper was looking a lot like a snake that had just eaten a large meal, with the way her back bowed and her long limbs hung and framed her round middle. Tony swelled with pride every time he saw her, knowing that _he_ was responsible for that baby inside her. And someday very, very soon (her due date was only a week away) he would get to _meet_ that baby.

 

Pepper punched him lightly on the arm. "Don't say that. I feel like I could go into labor at any minute and if I do I'm not going to hold it in because you're out playing superhero."   
  
She gave his suit one last once over before kissing him lightly on the cheek. "I'll be in the back and will hear everything you say so don't do anything stupid. I love you." And with that she pushed him out towards the doors.

 

He walked boldly through the doors, throwing them both out beside him. Tony Stark had to make an entrance, after all. He wasn’t wearing his sunglasses as he usually did to these things, but he threw his arms out all the same.

 

He knew he was looking a bit ragged. The lines under his eyes could be seen clear across the room, and there was at least 40% more silver in his hair, but he kept his head held up high anyway.

 

He sauntered up to the podium, ignoring the flashes with trained detachment. He made eye contact with Pepper across the room and nearly melted when she curved her fingers together to form a heart.

 

“So I’m here today because the press feels the need to know every intimate detail of celebrities’ lives.” Tony said into the mic, his hands on either side of the podium. “And you won’t even wait for my child to breathe before you want to know exactly what kind of person he or she is going to be. So with no further ado, I’ll open the field for your prying, unnecessary little questions.”

 

He was bitter, and it was clear. And normally Pepper would have scolded him, but at that moment she was really glad that it was in his nature to be unfilteredly honest. And to be perfectly frank, she was feeling the exact same way.

 

A young man in the front row raised his hand and was immediately chosen over the other half dozen screaming reporters. The room fell quiet and he calmly asked, "What made you and Miss Potts decide to have a child now?"

 

“We didn’t decide.” He said, “It just sort of happened. You know how birth control is only 99% effective? Well it turns out that my wigglers are as clever as the rest of me and hacked their way into the system. It’s quite impressive, to be honest.”

 

His phone lit up almost immediately.  
  
 _Strike one. I don't like being likened to a computer. And don't mention your 'wigglers' to the press._  
  
Pepper caught Tony's eye and tried her hardest to look stern while trying not to laugh. They had an image to maintain and that image did not involve Tony's sperm. No matter how amusing his comments were.  
  
"Have you decided where the baby is going to be delivered?" another reporter asked, not waiting to be called on.

 

“Yes, and I’m not telling _you_.” Tony said politely with a disarming smile. “I don’t want the press circling the building like vultures.”

 

The reporters looked disappointed but Pepper smiled. Tony knew what he was doing even if he did have to find the rudest or most sarcastic way to do it.  
  
"How does the rest of your team feel about the baby?" another reporter asked.

 

“Another Avenger, I won’t say who, already had a baby, so they’re already used to a little one being around. I haven’t talked to them _much_ about it, but they haven’t objected.”

 

"Are you concerned about your child growing up in such a violent environment?" the same reporter asked.

 

“I don’t think it’s really going to affect him. Or her. I didn’t grow up in a quote-unquote _violent_ environment, and I still ended up going into the weapons industry and turning into a friggin’ superhero. If anything, growing up around super heroes is just going to prepare him or her, and open their eyes to the reality that there are bad people out there, and there are better people with the power to stop them.”

 

That seemed to satisfy that reporter and other quickly jumped forward to take his place.  
  
"Have you decided on names for the baby?" she asked.  
  
Back in her seat Pepper gasped as a sudden pain seized her. She was getting used to this sort of pain by now having had her fair share of Braxton Hicks contractions (She had almost given Tony a heart attack the first time.) and the pain they caused. She shifted a little, hoping to relieve the cramping but it remained.

 

“We’re between Lucille, Violet or Juliet if we have a daughter.” Tony said, noticing Pepper squirming in the back and wondering if she had to pee. “And if it’s a boy, Lazarus.”

 

"Was that your idea or hers and does it have anything to do with your time in Afghanistan?" the woman asked.  
  
Pepper sighed in relief. The discomfort had lessened. It would probably be back, the sporadic little Braxton bastards, but for now she felt better.

 

“Mine and yes.” Tony said, not elaborating in the least. She hadn’t asked him to, after all.

 

"If you have a son do you plan for him to take over for you either at Stark industries or as Iron Man some day?" a reporter in the back asked.

 

“Excuse you,” Tony said, feigning more offense than he felt. “If I have a girl, she’s going to take over, too.” He sighed and looked down for a moment. “I never really wanted to follow in my father’s foot steps. You know, when I was a kid, I wanted to build really cool _toys_. I built engines and rockets to make my father happy, but what I really wanted to do was improve those lousy interactive toys that kids play with when they’re little. That’s why my most favorite project I’ve ever worked on has been Jarvis.

 

“But despite that fact, I did what daddy wanted me to do because I wanted to please daddy. Because I wanted him to be proud of me. And part of me doesn’t want my child to grow up feeling that way, that part of me wants my child to know right from the start that I love him or her so much it _aches_ , and I don’t want them to feel like they have to _prove_ anything. But the other part of me wants to see what my kid will come up with in their endeavor to impress me, you know?

 

“I guess I’m probably going to encourage my child to take over my business, and hopefully they will eventually. Because if not, I’m going to either need to have another one who will, or figure out something else to do with my company when I’m gone. But just like I took it from my dad and moved it in a new direction, I have faith that my child with all their creativity and brilliance will do the same. In fifty years, there’s no saying what Stark Industry will be about. It was weapons, and now it’s energy, and once my kid gets their gifted little hands on it, it might be about waste management. I don’t know! All I know is that if my child takes over Stark Industry, it will be better than I ever could have made it.”

 

Pepper felt her eyes start to water. It didn't surprise her to hear Tony talk like that, especially after all the conversations they had had but hearing him say it so openly, in front of everyone made her so happy it hurt.  
  
She picked up her phone and typed a quick message to Tony.  
  
 _You have no idea how much I love you right now._

His eyes flicked down to the phone for a split second and his face cracked into a grin, but he had to set it aside for the next question thrown his way.

 

"Your marriage to Ms. Potts has been revealed to be a hoax." the lovely Christine Everheart said, looking bitter. "Is there a particular reason you two have decided not to settle down?"  
  
From her seat in the back Pepper glared at the back of the vile woman's head. The only reason she had brought it up was because they, meaning Tony, had lied to her. No one cared about whether they were getting married or not any more. It was old news. Not that they should have cared in the first place because it was-  
  
Her mental tirade was cut off by another wave of pain.

 

“Yeah, because marriage is a pain. It’s more media than anything at this point in our society, and there’s a ridiculous amount of pressure to get it exactly perfect, or it’s considered a failure and will haunt you for the rest of your life. Pepper doesn’t like wearing big dresses and I hate tuxes, we’re both incredibly busy with the business and now _parenthood_ on the horizon, and I’d like to focus more on being a good father than spending thousands of dollars and hundreds of hours on planning the extravagant wedding that the media won’t criticize us for. The people in the world that are concerned about me not being married to her are the same ones who think I’m going to leave her because I’m not tied to her legally. Well I’d like to say to all those people _right now_ ,” he suddenly raised his voice like he did when he was getting excited and making a point, and looked directly into the most nearby camera.

 

“My commitment to Pepper is _ten thousand_ times more meaningful than your relationship with your husband or wife, because I don’t have a ring and a paper telling me I’m _legally obligated_ to stay! I’m staying by Pepper’s side because god dammit I’m in love with her crazy ass and the thought of being apart makes me sick to my stomach! I’m not closing myself into your closed-minded definition of the proper American family because it’s going to be up to _ME_ , it’s going to be _MY_ choice to stay by her side and love her and raise our child. Not the choice of some legal document, and _NOT_ the choice of the _press_. _Thank you very much_ , miss Everheart.”

 

There was a moment of silence before the entire room burst out with applause. The only exceptions were Christine who looked like she wanted to hit something and Pepper who was too busy crying to clap. She was crying so hard she almost didn't hear the faint 'pop' but she definitely noticed the sudden rush of warm liquid between her legs.   
  
Eyes wide she stood and started heading for the doors, typing madly to Tony as she went.  
  
 _That was wonderful now get down here. I'm going into labor and if you aren't in the hall in ten seconds I'm leaving without you._

Tony paled as he looked at his phone. The look of panic on his face must have been clear, because the applause died down almost instantly and one of the reporters said,

 

“Mr. Stark?”

 

“Oh my god.” He said, quietly, so just the people in the front row could hear.

 

“Mr. Stark?” another reporter repeated.

 

“Oh my god.” He said again louder, his head snapping up and searching the back for Pepper. She wasn’t there. This wasn’t a joke.

 

There was murmuring now, and another call of “Mr. Stark?”

 

“Oh my god!” he looked terrified and excited all at once. “I’m gonna be a daddy!”

 

He sprinted down the aisle, and the cameras instantly started flashing like mad, questions being shouted as he went. The reporters tried to get down the hall but in the mad rush, he and Pepper escaped in secret down the elevator.

 

“Are you going to be okay?” he asked her, holding her shoulders firmly as they descended to the lobby.

 

"Yeah I'm fine. I started having contractions and I thought it was another false alarm. But then my water broke and I knew this was it." she held out her phone. "Call Happy. I haven't had a chance yet. I'm probably going to have another contraction soon and I would really prefer to be sitting down."

 

Tony punched in his number and made sure he had the car waiting in the front as the elevator hit the lobby. “Do I need to carry you?” Tony asked as the doors opened and mercifully none of the press had made it down to the lobby yet.

 

Pepper shot him a look that said exactly how plausible she thought that plan was.   
  
"Tony, look at me. I'm huge. Chances are you won't even be able to lift me, let alone carry me all the way to the car."

 

“Careful or I’ll take that as a challenge,” Tony warned as he ushered her through the lobby, hands on her shoulders, prepared to catch her if her legs buckled underneath a contraction.

 

They had just reached the car when another wave of discomfort hit her. It radiated from her back through her abdomen.  It didn't last much more than thirty seconds but it still took her breath away. She leaned against the car for a moment until it had passed.  
  
"How far is it to the hospital?" she asked as Tony helped her down into the car.

 

Cool panic rushed through Tony’s veins, keeping him a live wire of attention. “Ten minutes.” He said, turning her sideways on the seat to lean against his chest so she would be more comfortable. “Five if we want Happy to drive fast.”

 

"No. We drive safe, not fast." Pepper said, placing her hands on her belly as if she could hold the baby in until they got to the hospital. "I'm not taking any chances right now. We have plenty of time."

 

“Understood.” Happy said as the car pulled out.

 

“If we’ve got time, then make sure you shake off any press following us.” Tony instructed the driver, who gave him a firm nod. Looking back at Pepper, her gaze directed over her shoulder at him, they shared a moment of quiet fear. “This is happening.” He whispered, pressing his forehead into her hair.

 

"We knew it would." Pepper replied, her voice soft and a little breathless. She was scared and she wasn't so proud that she couldn't admit it. They had known this day was coming but for some reason she had never really thought about it that much. She had thought about being pregnant and raising the child afterwards but the actual act of giving birth had somehow slipped her mind.

 

He squeezed both her hands to comfort himself as much as her, and she could feel his whole body trembling.

 

“You’re going to be okay.” He murmured. “You’re going to be okay, and the baby’s going to be okay. And I’m going to be okay. We’re going to be okay.”

 

"Yeah, yeah I know. It's not going to be pretty though." she said, already imagining what it was going to be like. It was going to hurt, a lot, and she had never been particularly good at hiding what she was feeling. "I'm going to be in pain Tony." she said. "And I don't want you to panic. You can't panic. Alright? Promise me?"

 

“As long as you promise you won’t start bleeding to death.” Tony said, rubbing his thumbs over the backs of her hands.

 

"I promise. Now I need you to make a chart. We have to time the contractions." she explained. "There should be a notebook and a pen in my purse."

 

Tony grabbed for the materials, feeling comfortable with this task. This was math and counting and rhythm and timing and graphing and this he was used to. He drew a chart quickly and set it beside him on the seat so he could run his hands through her hair. 

 

Pepper had another contraction on their way to the hospital, this one lasting almost a full minute. As soon as they got inside she was placed in a wheelchair and taken up to their private room where a nurse helped her change into a hospital gown and ushered her into bed to await the doctor.  
  
"You should probably call the others." Pepper told Tony once she was settled. "They'll want to know and you know Phil and Bruce are going to hate us for not telling them as soon as it started."

 

Tony dialed Steve’s number, knowing that he always spent his time around two or more of the other Avengers.

 

“Hello?”

 

“Speakerphone. Now.”

 

There was a little bit of fumbling and a few loud beeps before Tony could hear the faint sounds of Natasha, Bruce, and Clint’s four-year-old Matthew in the background.

 

“It’s time,” was all Tony had to say.

 

There was a loud whoop from someone who sounded like Clint followed by Natasha demanding money for winning whatever bet they had made. All of this was immediately silenced by a harsh order from Steve who asked, "How's she doing? Everything alright so far?"

 

“Yeah, she’s dilated whatever inches I didn’t really pay attention all I know is that the baby is coming now, and if you don’t want to miss it when it gets here, you need to move your asses!” Tony said, sounding a little scared and a lot excited.

 

"Be there in fifteen minutes." That was Phil who would no doubt arrange for choppers to get them there if he had to. The man was still as reserved as ever but he and Pepper had formed a close friendship over the years, bonding over watching the men they loved head out into battle over and over again. It had left them very loyal to each other and if Phil said they would be there then no force on Earth would stop them. With that the line went dead.

 

Tony replaced his phone in his pocket and he sat on the edge of the cot, holding her hand through the contractions as they awaited their friends. He knew they would have to wait in the lobby, but they would want to be there anyway.

 

He tried to keep calm every time Pepper would seize up and grab his hand. “Are you going to want an epidural?” he asked her after the third contraction.

 

"Yes but don't let me get it. I know that sounds stupid and it's only going to be worse without it but I'd prefer to do this with as little medication as possible." she said, stroking the back of his hand. "Does that seem ridiculous?"

 

Tony shook his head. “No, it’s okay. Women have been doing it for hundreds of years without. Besides, I did some research and it turns out that getting an epidural can make it hard to push.”

 

"That seems logical. If it's supposed to block the pain then it would also block other signals. Now that seems ridiculous. Give someone something to make coping easier while making the process harder? Seems counterpro-ooohhhh" she cut herself off as another contraction hit her.

 

He rubbed her hand and kissed her forehead, and all he could do was be there as a hand to hold as the pain died down.

 

The next few minutes were sort of a blur. Nurses flitted in and out, putting Pepper’s feet up in the stirrups and checking her every few minutes, rattling off numbers that meant nothing to Tony.

 

He got a text from Bruce,

 

_We’re in the lobby. How dilated is she?_

One question later and Tony typed back, _six centimeters._

"Tony," Pepper said pitifully. She was already sweaty and tired and getting hungry but mostly she just ached all over. "Can you get me some juice or something? And my cell phone? I need to cancel my meetings for the week."

 

Tony laughed grimly. “You had meetings planned right up to your due date, didn’t you?” he asked, picking up her cell phone and nosing into her calendar. “ _And_ a few days after? Christ, Pep.”

 

He handed her the phone before darting into the hall to ask a doctor where he could find a vending machine.

 

His hands were shaking as he put a dollar into the machine, punching the lit up button for orange juice. Pepper never much liked orange juice, but ever since she got pregnant she seemed to drink it with every meal.

 

He had to take a moment to breathe, leaning his forehead against the machine and feeling its warm hum.

 

This was happening. He was minutes, hours away from being a daddy. A father. He was going to bear a child through the woman he cared about more than himself. Which was no small feat.

 

“Tony? Tony Stark?”

 

Tony turned to see the familiar face of Joseph, the massive black man from the meeting.

 

“What are the odds?” Tony laughed weakly, greeting him with a handshake.

 

"How's she doing?" Joseph asked, reaching down to grab the juice out of the vending machine and handed it to Tony. "She ask for meds or she going natural?"

 

“Natural.” Tony sighed, crinkling the wrapper on the bottle beneath his fingers as he flexed them anxiously. “Which means a lot more screaming. I’m not sure how well I’m going to respond to that. But I know she’s strong enough to handle it without painkillers. And she’ll only regret it later if she needed to drug herself in order to bring a baby into the world.”

 

Joseph nodded and began feeding his own money into the machine. "Robin too. Of course she won't stop crying and I don't think it'll help once things really get going. My buddy is out on a mission so he doesn't even know his kid is about to be born and it's really tearing her up. She tried to call him but there's no way to reach him right now."

 

“Video tape it?” Tony offered. “You know, actually, I have a buddy who’s got his hands all over the military and government, and I could probably pull some strings to get him on a webcam. I’ve got authority, and he’s got even _more_ authority.”

 

"If you could...I don't know how I could thank you man. She's kind of desperate to see him and talk to him you know? She's got this crazy idea in her head that he's going to die when the baby is born. If she could talk to him I think it would calm her down." Joseph said, looking at Tony like he was ready to drop to his knees and worship him.

 

“Sure, let me just run this juice to Pep and I’ll be right back. Stay here.” He said, jogging down the hall until he reached Pepper’s room. Ducking inside, he set the juice on the side table and kissed her temple. “I’ve got to go play super hero again. I’ll be back in a few minutes.” He said, giving her no chance to talk him out of it before he was out of the room again.

 

One elevator ride later, and explaining the situation, and he was bringing Phil up to the lounge area on the fourth floor, guiding him towards the enormous man still standing there.

 

“Joseph, Agent Coulson. Coulson, Joseph.” Tony introduced, and he was really happy that Phil was wearing his sunglasses and earpiece because it made his suit look _that much_ more official.

 

"Phil Coulson." Phil said, offering his hand to the much larger man. "Stark has explained the situation and I'll do what I can but I'll need some more information from you." he turned to Tony. "I can handle things from here Stark, go back to Pepper."  
  
That was exactly what Tony did. Leaving the two to talk business he turned on his heel and hightailed it back to their room where he was greeted by a very angry looking Pepper aiming a pillow at his head.  
  
"You jerk!" she said, letting the pillow fly. "Don't you dare do that to me again!"

 

“I’m sorry, I had to help Robin, that French girl from the class we went to last month.” Tony said, “Her guy is off fighting in the war and I needed Coulson to pull some strings to get them on a webcam together. Is that so awful?”

 

"You do not say you're going to go 'play super hero' while I am in labor you ass!" Pepper said, starting to cry. "Do you have any idea what just went through my mind? How scared I was?"

 

“Oh, jeez, okay, my bad. Phrasing.” He came to sit beside her, reaching for her hands. She tried to pull away, but he just kept pulling until he had her hands firmly clasped in his. “Didn’t mean it like that. But I did say I’d be back in just a few minutes.”

 

"You say that but how do I know you mean it? How am I supposed to know you're not just trying to make me feel better?" she asked, squeezing his hands.

 

“I’m here, I’m back, it was a poor choice of words, let’s put it behind us. Now is not the best time for us to get into a fight.” Tony said, rubbing his hands over hers.

 

Pepper nodded and wiped the tears from her eyes. "What's going on with Robin then? Is she alright?"

 

“I think she will be once she gets to see her man on the computer screen.” Tony said, wiping away the wetness that Pepper missed. “I just… I don’t want any man to have to miss this experience. I had to do something to help.”

 

"You're a good man, you know that?" Pepper said with a smile and leaned against him. He really was sweet sometimes, not just to her but to people who deserved it. He was just really good at hiding it so people wouldn't take advantage of him.

 

Tony grunted playfully and ran a hand through her hair.

 

And for just a moment things were absolutely perfect. And then another contraction hit her, and that perfection went out the window.

 

Doctors began coming in and out again, rattling off more numbers, saying she was almost fully dilated, almost time to push. Seven centimeters, eight centimeters, Tony wondered how many centimeters was “ready.”

 

“Are you excited?” he whispered to Pepper, kissing her cheeks when the doctor told her ‘one more centimeter to go’

 

“Terrified.” She admitted thickly, tears running down her face and mingling with sweat.

 

“I’m here.” He cupped her face and looked her in the eyes. “I will _always_ be here.”

 

The most brutal of all contractions hit her, and the doctors told her it was time to push. Tony’s heart was racing a mile a minute and every crunch of his fingers under her grip was agonizing, but worth it. He held her hand in his, suffered her grasp, waiting to hear that first cry from a brand new baby.

 

The next few minutes was a blur of “push!” and more screaming than Tony ever wanted to hear in his life. Pepper was sobbing and holding onto him like he was the only thing in the world. He sat on the edge of the cot and leaned over her, looking her straight in the eye like they did at the class. At the time, the eye contact had seemed creepy and forced.

 

But now, with their baby on its way into the world, as they looked at each other, it was the most magical thing either of them had ever experienced.

 

“Alright, take a short break,” the doctor said, still sitting between Pepper’s legs.

 

“I love you so much,” Tony whispered to her, giving her sweaty forehead a tender kiss.

 

"I love you too. Even if I kind of hate you a little bit right now." Pepper sobbed. She felt like she was close, so very close, and all of this was so wonderful but she would have given anything for it to be over. It would be worth it when it was done and she held her baby in her arms but it hurt so much more than she had been prepared for.

 

And then it was time to push again. More screaming, and they continued to look at each other, until the doctor suddenly said,

 

“The baby is crowning, wow, would you look at all that red hair!”

 

Tony’s head whipped around as if he could see the baby from behind the hospital gown stretched up over Pepper’s knees, delight soaring through him. He looked back around at her, excitement alight in his eyes. “You hear that Pep? The kid’s got your hair!”

 

“One more big push!”

 

And then it was over. Relief washed over Pepper as the pressure left her pelvis, and her body turned to jelly on the cot. Tony stroked her face, whispering over and over to her, “You did it, good job, we did it, we’re parents, you did it,”

 

The baby was lifted and the cord was cut, and then the doctor said,

 

“Congradulations, mom and dad, on your brand new baby boy.”

 

A small, choked sob of mixed relief and joy left Pepper and took Tony's hand. A son. They had a son. Little Lazarus Stark. The doctor's took him to clean him up, ran the necessary tests before he was wrapped in a blue blanket and placed in Pepper's arms.  
  
He was probably the most beautiful thing she had ever seen. He was tiny and his skin was red and wrinkled and he couldn't have been more perfect. Pepper distantly heard the doctors telling them how long he was and how much he weighed but she didn't really hear it. She knew in the coming days she would probably have to repeat the information a few hundred times but all she could do then was watch him and take in every little detail she could see.  
  
"He's wonderful." she said quietly, fresh tears wetting her cheeks.

 

Pride was rocketing through Tony, and he wanted to run up and down the halls screaming to everyone who could hear that he had a son.

 

“Look at what we did,” he crooned, running a finger under the little boy’s chin. “ _Look_ at what we did.”

 

The infant grasped onto his father’s finger tightly, and he stopped moving. The feeling of that tiny hand wrapped around his finger had tears pooling in his eyes.

 

“Oh my God, Pepper, we’re parents.”

 

"Yeah, yeah we are." she said, too choked up to say much else. Seeing that tiny little fist, already responding to his father and reaching out to them made her happier than she could have thought possible. Here was their son, healthy and whole in her arms and it was the most amazing thing she could think of.  
  
"God Tony, look at him." Pepper said though she knew Tony was as unlikely to look away as she was.

 

“I’m looking,” he whispered, and a tear rolled down his cheek. “I can’t believe I waited this long to be a father. And I can’t believe I’m experiencing this with you, everything seems so surreal.”

 

It wouldn’t be until much later that he realized in all the hustle and bustle of the birthing process, his fears that had been gripping him for months were completely absent, replaced by excitement and anticipation.  

 

"I know. I can't believe it either. He's so perfect." she said, watching her baby shift a little in his blankets. "He's absolutely perfect. And we made him. He's ours, Tony."

 

“Lazarus.” Tony whispered, swirling the incredibly fine red hair all over the little boy’s head around his finger. “I have a son.”

 

They just cooed over and over for a few minutes until Tony finally pulled himself away. Lazarus gave a whine when the finger left, which made Tony smile as he stood. “I’m going to go get the others. I’ll be right back.” He murmured, kissing her forehead and disappearing from the room.

 

By the time he was in the lobby, Coulson had returned. Everyone snapped to attention the instant Tony appeared, and they all shot to their feet. Natasha was the quickest to move towards the brand new beaming parent.

 

“It’s a boy.” He said with a grin.

 

"Point for me, I'll have my fifty bucks back." Clint said, punching Natasha lightly on the shoulder but smiling at Tony. He knew the joy of finally becoming a father and he could see it reflected in Tony.   
  
"Can we see him?" Natasha asked briskly, shrugging off Clint's comment.

 

“Follow me,” Tony said, hurrying towards the stairs. With a team of incredibly fit people, the stairs were faster than the elevator. Phil brought up the rear, though, and Clint stayed back to climb with him.

 

When they were all in the proper hall, Tony led the group towards the room where Pepper was still staring at her baby.

 

“And here he is, everyone. Lazarus Stark.” Tony gestured towards the infant swaddled in Pepper’s arms, “My son.”

 

"Our son." Pepper corrected, for once not caring how she looked or who would see her. All she could see was the infant in her arms. "He's as much mine as he is yours Tony."  
  
"He's beautiful Pepper." Phil said, holding his own son in his arms. "You should both be very proud."

 

Matthew, being a naturally curious four-year-old, squirmed in his father’s arms. “Why’s the baby so wrinkly?” he asked loudly.

 

"Because he's new." Clint laughed and ruffled his son's hair. "You were wrinkly too when you were born."  
  
"How long you have to stay in the hospital Pep?" Natasha asked.  
  
Pepper sighed and handed Lazarus gently to Tony, though she was a little reluctant to let him go. "A day or two probably. The doctors need to make sure everything's healing alright."

 

Steve looked somewhat uncomfortable as he peered over Tony’s shoulder at the baby. “So now we’re going to have two little ones in the tower?” he asked.

 

“Yup,” Tony cradled the little boy close to his chest, and he felt like he could never possibly put him down. “This one will be significantly less rambunctious than Matthew though, at least for a few years.”

 

“I approve of this child!” Thor suddenly said loudly, and Matthew crowed in agreement. Lazarus’ face scrunched up because of the sudden noise and he let out a little whimper and a wiggled.

 

“Inside voices, Thor,” Tony scolded, rocking the baby so he wouldn’t start crying.

 

"Have you guys thought about godparents or anything?" Natasha asked. "Clint and Phil made me Matthew's godmother and I hope you're not going to be as ridiculous as them."  
  
Pepper nodded. "We have thought about it actually. We were hoping Bruce might be willing."

 

Bruce blanched. “Wh- _me?_ If something horrific happens to the both of you, you think it’s a good idea to put a _baby_ in _my_ care?” he asked, his hands flying up in front of his chest.

 

"Hopefully it won't come to that and if it does it probably won't be for quite a few years." Pepper replied. "And if you think about it rationally, you're a genius and Tony wouldn't settle for anything less. You're a doctor, which settles my mind, and if someone were to try to hurt him you could protect him better than anyone else. As much as we love all of you," Pepper looked around the group, smiling at each individual person. "You're the obvious choice. You don't have a kingdom to rule, you're from this time period, you don't already have your hands full with a demanding job and family and you aren't Natasha."

 

Bruce looked sheepish and stared down at his shoes. “Well, okay, I guess. Just don’t let it come to that.”

 

At that point, the baby started to get passed around. Tony was always right beside him to make sure all went well. Natasha was the first to hold him, followed by Clint and then Steve, who passed him very quickly to Bruce.

Bruce took a little bit longer to look at the baby, and a small smile even managed to creep across his face.

 

However, _everyone_ in the room became nervous when Thor took the child. It could almost fit in the palm of his hand, it was so tiny and he was so big.

 

“Midgard newborns are _so_ _small_ ,” he said, just as he had said the first time he ever held Matthew when he was just a baby, and he lifted the child closer to his face. Lazarus decided it would be at that exact moment that he would open his eyes. “Ah! He looked at me!” and then he began to cry.

 

“Inside voices, I told you,” Tony hissed, taking the child from Thor very quickly and handing him back to Pepper so she could try to calm him down.

 

Matthew grew more and more wiggly until Phil put him down. The little blonde boy immediately climbed up onto the bed beside Pepper. He sat on his knees and chewed his lip as she rocked Lazarus quiet again.

 

“Is that my brother?” he asked, pointing at the baby and looking up at Clint.

 

Pepper laughed and used one arm to pull Matthew in for a quick hug.  
  
"Not quite sweetie. He's more like your...cousin. But you gotta help him out okay? He's a lot younger than you and I'm going to be counting on you to look out for him and keep him in line." she said. "Think you can do that for me?"

 

Matthew’s face grew serious and he nodded firmly. “Agent Matthew reporting for duty!” he said, saluting with the wrong hand.

 

"I'll hold you to that agent." she replied before giving him a quick kiss. Then she yawned. The adrenaline that had been pumping through her was starting to wear off and she was beginning to feel how exhausted the whole process had left her.

 

Phil lifted Matthew off the bed, and his big blue eyes were still riveted on the baby.

 

“We’re going to go now,” Phil said, more to everyone else in the room than to Pepper. “And let you get some rest.”

 

Everyone said their goodbyes, and after a minute, the three of them were alone in the room again.

 

“This really happened.” Tony said, as Pepper scooched over on the small cot to give him room to lie down next to her. The baby was sound asleep again, and they just kept touching his face over and over to inspect every little detail.

 

“He’s got your eyes and your hair, he’s probably going to end up getting freckles.” Tony said. “You know what that means, right?”

 

“Oh god.”

 

“Yes. He’s going to end up with my personality.” He grinned at her.

 

"Not if I can help it." Pepper said, half-joking. She leaned her head against his shoulder and smiled at her son. It wouldn't be so bad if he grew up like his father. Strong, brave, inquisitive, resourceful. Never one to go out without a fight. Yeah, that wouldn't be so bad.  
  
"I love you Tony." she said, her eyes closing as she felt him lift the sleeping baby from her arms. The need to rest was too strong to resist anymore and she managed a quiet "thank you" before falling peacefully to sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The end~


End file.
